


The Incident at Japan: Volume 2

by MrOmelette



Series: The Incident at Japan [2]
Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Persona 3, The Kane Chronicles - Rick Riordan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Gen, Isekai basically, MagicalGIrl!Sadie but that's probably a stretch, MagicalGirl!Zia but also a stretch, Not Beta Read, Seifuku!Drew but merely for aesthetic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 38,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27123182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrOmelette/pseuds/MrOmelette
Summary: Drew Tanaka. Pisces. Aphrodite. Trope-y OCs. Minato Arisato. Chiron. And Takamagahara. This is a train wreck. But I can't really say it's worth your time.Because, again, this is garbage.
Series: The Incident at Japan [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1973605
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Demon Among Devils](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/703450) by The Crimson Lord. 



> Hi! This is the second volume of my light novel-esque Persona 3 x PJO crossover. This first chapter isn't really going to make much sense unless you read the first volume, sorry.

* * *

* * *

**____________ ARC**

* * *

There was a gnome-like thing on the backyard. Kenta didn't think it was a decor, because her grandma wasn't one for decors. Besides, they lived with a tight budget - not that they were poor, but the money his mom sent every month and the measly profit his grandmother earned by selling home-grown vegetables at the local market was just enough to earn simple pleasures.

A decor wasn't a 'simple pleasure'.

Besides it was moving. Way too realistic for it to be called a robot gnome.

He ignored it, of course, thinking it was one of the toys of the kids next door.

On the way to school, however...

_That's a talking dog. Wearing a kimono. Standing upright._

Kenta found it odd but kept walking.

On his way to school, he met up with Drew.

* * *

It was three days later that the local Yokai started calling it the 'Exalted's Debut' or, to the more simplier Yokai, 'How Boss Destroyed That Upstart'.

Those three days were as hectic as they are uneventful.

Hectic, because Drew's mother started to appear regularly in those three days, (multiple times a day, mind you) but most of the time was just to keep tabs about Minato and what she knew about him.

And uneventful because trouble died down after that.

Also, uneventful because it's been three days since Minato has fallen into a coma.

_Just how shonen can Minato-san be?_

* * *

During the aftermath, Drew woke up at the sight of her mother, Aphrodite, speaking to a handful of other goddesses. She didn't get to hear much about the situation because her thoughts immediately went to her friend: Kenta.

"My friend...?" Her voice was hoarse, dryer than a desert. She swallowed and said it again, this time more clearly.

One of the goddesses noticed her, and smiled to her direction. It was Circe. She pointed to the side and to the sleeping form of the now-human Kenta. Ignoring the talk of the adults, Drew went to her friend's side.

To think this Drew Tanaka, who at Camp, scoffed at the sight of affection, would be this worried for such a mundane mortal was a new experience. Kenta was one of the few people who accepted her for who she was: a friend through and through.

She studied his sleeping form. Superficially, she could tell that he was fine, but seeing as she didn't have any knowledge with first aid and safety, that didn't amount to much. She should ask her mom to see if Kenta was fine.

Kenta stirred.

"Kenta? Are you okay?" Relief was running through her now.

The boy groaned. Yes. Was what she translated. _Good._

"Same as before Kenta. Keep your eyes closed." They were in the vicinity of goddesses. Who knew what could happen if he saw then all at once.

When he followed her instructions, "And Arisato-san?"

 _Arisato-san_?

Then she saw the other unconscious person a few feet away from Kenta.

"Minato-kun's fine."

Unconscious, but looked to be unharmed. It paralleled to how Drew felt with Kenta. With Kenta, her worry was intense, with Minato... well, as long as he isn't overtly injured, she was fine.

Kenta was a precious person, while Minato was just an acquaintance (at best). Of course she and Minato had a moment earlier at the underworld, but they've only really interacted today. And yeah, sure she worried about Minato. But it was as a human being to another human being. You can't be instantly _deep_ friends in just a day. Drew's not some drooling _shonen_ protagonist who believed that friendships is omnipotent.

Besides, Drew didn't mention it to Kenta but Minato's unconscious form was being surrounded(?)... guarded by a slew of Yokai. Approaching him would be more trouble that it's worth.

Kenta sighed. "What happened?"

"Oh this and that..." Drew tried to laugh it off, but it came off as forced and awkward.

When her friend's lips turned into a frown, Drew sighed before moving towards Kenta's head.

Kenta jerked his head.

"Hey! I said keep your eyes closed."

"What're you...!"

Drew really felt bad for Kenta. All this happened to an innocent bystander, and he has to be left in the dark.

"You should be grateful, you know. I'm giving you the 'lying your head on the heroine's lap' manga treatment. It's not like I'm doing this because I like to, you know."

"Yes, yes... _hime-sama_." It was sarcastic, but Kenta was the only person Drew felt comfortable with discussing about manga and it's tropes. "O-ta-ku-hi-me-sa-ma."

 _Otakuhime-sama_. Princess Weeb (roughly translated that is). Just like how Veronica unironically refers to Archie as Archiekins. It's a sweet, affectionate endearment that was nuanced despite it's teasing tone.

Besides, Drew likened herself as a Veronica more than a Betty.

His teasing was replied by a flick of her finger on his forehead. "I'm glad you're okay."

That's when bells started to be heard in the horizon. Then festive music followed.

"What going on?"

Drew placed a hand over his eyes, "I told you to keep your eyes closed."

The daughter of Aphrodite looked on. A literal procession of Yokai appeared, as if from nowhere. _How did that skip the radar of the others?_ There were at least a hundred of them, and they were _not_ being discreet.

The local Yokai, the ones that guarded Minato started bowing in respect.

* * *

"Please come again." The cashier said politely as the automatic doors slid closed.

Schoolbags slung over their shoulders, Drew carrying a plastic bag filled with _konbini_ snacks, Drew and Kenta continued walking to school.

"Do you think Minato-san's ever going to wake up?" They walked a steady pace to school. The bell wouldn't ring for another fifteen minutes, and school was just around the corner.

Kenta was looking at something at the corner of his eye before shrugging. "Are you worried?"

She nodded, "A little. In a way, we're still acquainted with him. He's our classmate after all." _Which is as good as being loose friends considering this was Japan_ _and this was how their culture worked._ Drew was not stupid as to say that classmates equates to friends but the way how the Japanese educational paradigm worked (in terms of class environment) ensured that there was at least some level of camaraderie, if not, solidarity between sections.

While of course, it was more complicated than that, and Drew couldn't speak to the bullied students of Japan, but from her experience, Japanese students belonging in a section were generally closer to each other than their American counterparts.

"Also," Kenta started but then shook his head, "uh... Nevermind."

* * *

An enigmatic Yokai that made all other Yokai bow in reverence. From 'evil' Yokai, simple everyday Yokai, to hardened and benevolent yet prideful ones, they all bowed when his procession came.

Carried in a palanquin, complete with a band that played festival music, the hundred or so entourage stopped when the goddesses finally stopped talking to each other and noticed the literal parade that appeared out of nowhere.

From the palanquin's small opening, came an old man with a weird-shaped head. It was elongated, like a person with hydrocephalus but... more like a gourd? A head shaped like a gourd. In contrast to his old appearance, he wore an expensive get-up that Drew's only seen from established Buddhists. A _kesa_ , the name popped into her head. The old man was wearing a _kesa_.

"Greetings, my name is Nurahiyon."

* * *

"Kenta's acting weird." It was Suzu who said it, the one who noticed things last. Not that she was slow-minded, but she just had the tendency of being unable to read the atmosphere.

It was lunchtime, and Drew and Suzu decided to take the monumental task of going into the cafeteria to buy something to eat. Monumental because the people who usually frequent the cafeteria were highly competitive in getting the best food available.

"Really?"

The lady by the counter was already trying to calm down the frenzied students by getting them to form into a line with little success.

"Yeah, he seems to be in a daze lately."

How Suzu was able to maneuver around these savages everyday was beyond Drew, but then again, it contributed to Suzu's charm. She was cute and petite yet had the ability of becoming a spitball when getting the best food from the cafeteria.

"Maybe I should sneak out to get to the nearest _konbini_?" Drew spoke to herself as she watched the students settled down and formed a line. "Wait, _Kenta_? In a daze? I find that hard to believe."

Suzu nodded before scoring a place that was only a few people from the counter. "Drew-chan, over here!"

Drew-chan. Suzu only exclusively called her that. And Drew wasn't the type of person one would associate with the suffix 'chan' with. Only Suzu was the one who was able to make a cutesy nickname of 'Drew-chan' into a sincere and affectionate one.

"Well, ever since the volcanic eruption scare, he's been pretty on edge."

* * *

"What's going on?" Kenta's voice was curious, especially since he was keeping his eyes closed, as per Drew's instructions.

The daughter of Aphrodite didn't want to answer because it was too complicated to explain. " **Kenta, wouldn't it be better if you sleep for a little while?** "

The effect was instantaneous, her friend was out like a log.

With that, Drew ran her hands over Kenta's hair before letting the scene unfold before her.

"I don't really claim this city to be mine." The old Yokai called Nurahiyon said as he talked politely in front of the assembled goddesses, "But the city is in disarray."

The assembled goddesses plus Thanatos looked ashamed. Hecate raised her head, "Well, I can try to put it back the way it was before."

Nurahiyon nodded, finding that answer sufficient, "But what of the mental damages? Quite a lot of the mundane was able to see through the Mist. The Yokai risk being exposed to the world."

"I can do that too." Hecate said.

Circe shook her head, "No, let me handle the property damage, you concentrate on befuddling the mortals."

"I could help Hecate around too." Psyche said. "I may not be as strong as her, but since it's humans, I could still have an impact."

The wizened Yokai nodded. For a Yokai no taller than five feet he had that much of an effect to the group. "I'd leave it to you then."

Psyche, Hecate and Circe floated upwards and flew into the city.

Nurahiyon turned to the battlefield. "I don't suppose someone could handle this? A lot of the Yokai and forest dwellers ended up homeless because of the battle."

Medea turned to the wasteland. Circe and Solomon's battle has turned the once scenic view into a rotting marshland. With bubbling poisonous liquids and toxic soil. "I suppose I could help clean the place."

The Witch strode to her chariot, grabbed the reigns and flew to the heart of the battlefield.

Nurahiyon nodded before turning to the remaining three: Aphrodite, Persephone and Thanatos.

Drew could only watch in amazement as this single Yokai was able to mobilize _gods_ to fix and remedy the situation. Nurahiyon, was his name, right? She needed to research him later.

* * *

"Hey, did you hear?" Drew accompanied Mayu to the washroom when she heard two girls by the mirror at the other side of the room speak. Drew was keeping to herself by fixating on her phone while Mayu did her business in a stall.

"About what?"

"The school is cursed."

"Ehh..." The girl's voice was in disbelief, "You believe that crap?"

The other girl shook her head and shushed her friend. "Be quiet, and I'm not joking. Some of the things in the school seemed odd."

"Yeah, and there's probably a ghost in the art room. Or like that rumor that a certain area for kids in the residential district is haunted. I've heard all that childish stuff."

The other girl shook her head, "Will you let me finish? What I'm saying is, a lot of clubs have started to notice things. The Mural Club said that someone edited their mural project. The Gardening Club said that vegetables they didn't plant appeared in their plots. The Baseball Club said their club room was rearranged."

"Which makes our school cursed? You truly believe that." The girl fixed her hair and washed her hands.

"Well, now that you think about it, it's kinda dumb."

"Yeah, maybe someone has it for the Mural Club. The Gardening Club has way too much members that I doubt they could keep track of all the plants they've grown, and most of the Baseball Club members are graduating this year, they need to lure in new members so they want to appear more mysterious. Doubt that's gonna work though, but it's not like I understand what boys want."

Drew didn't mean to eavesdrop, and despite their soft tones, the near-desertedness of the room made it easy to hear. She looked at the girl who made the deductions.

She recognized the girl from her year, with a band that had the words 'Press' on it. _Oh, that girl from the Journalism Club._ She couldn't recall the girls name, but Drew knew her reputation. The so-called ace reporter of their school.

She smiled at them when the two girls turned to her. _How youthful._

Thankfully, Mayu finished her business and stepped out of her stall. This signaled the other girls to smile at Drew before leaving the room.

"What was that about?" Mayu asked as she went for the sink to wash her hands.

"Nothing," Drew said with a shrug.

* * *

Nurahiyon's head hovered above Minato's unconscious form. When he approached, the Yokai guarding him parted, but not once did the Yokai stop from bowing reveredly at him.

"The Exalted One." Nurahiyon looked over him one last time before turning to the three Greeks. "Well, doesn't he need help?"

Aphrodite nodded, "Right. We should probably take him to a safe place. I could bring him to the [West] to recuperate." Drew's mother materialized a drachma and had just summoned a rainbow when Nurahiyon shook his head.

"I don't think that's wise."

"I beg to disagree." Persephone said. "The [West]'s haven for demigods is one of the safest places in the world."

"I don't doubt that," Nurahiyon began, "But is that what the Exalted One would have wanted? To be plucked out from his life and into a place that's different from what he's used to?"

Nurahiyon looked around, "I wonder where that Indian god went to? I also heard that a Saint also appeared here. Where are they?"

Thanatos shrugged. "They just vanished. Right after the Exalted One lost consciousness"

Aphrodite nodded, "The power that was with me also vanished when he lost consciousness. That's too bad because that power was unlike anything I've ever felt."

Nurahiyon placed a hand over his chin, in thought, "Well, he is Exalted. A Singularity that is akin to an Anomaly."

Terms. Drew was finding herself unable to keep up.

"I wonder if he has other powers?" Aphrodite asked, "What he did... It was different but not overpowering. It was like being given the means of becoming the best version of yourself."

"Anyway," Nurahiyon sighed, and an attendant Yokai gave him a cane. "I suggest he stay in the city."

"But-" Persephone wanted to protest but Nurahiyon raised a hand.

"He will be under _my_ protection. And by extension-"

"...all Yokai would protect him as well." Aphrodite sighed. "I don't like it but I can live with that."

"I promise to keep him safe until he wakes up. You have my word."

Wind started to pick up, and Drew had an inkling that Nurahiyon made a [Vow]. Similar to how the Greeks swore to the Styx for transparency.

* * *

"I didn't realize how much the Student Council depended on Minato-kun until he's out of the picture."

Taichi stretched his neck, trying to de-stress. School was over for the day, and he, Kenta, Drew and Mayu had a few hours to kill before Taichi and Mayu needed to go to their cram schools.

Suzu had to be home because of an emergency so it was only the four of them.

This time, they spent it on a fast food chain near school. A few other teens from other schools were here too. Drew was finding it odd that in this country, hanging out in a fast food restaurant after school was considered cool.

Currently, Taichi had slouched on the table and was bemoaning his predicament because of Minato's absence.

Mayu was reading a book in front of Taichi, and smacked the book's spine lightly on his head when her soft drinks almost got spilled.

Kenta... "Kenta-kun, are you okay?"

Her friend was in a daze, looking at something at the end of the room.

Drew followed his gaze. _A Yokai?_ While the Yokai were generally considered to be harmless, as compared to Greek monsters, their appearance was beyond weird.

 _Wait... since when was Kenta able to see through the Mist?_ She used her knee to lightly nudge Kenta's underneath the table.

That got his attention. "What? I wasn't listening."

Kenta looked pale. And there were bags under his eyes. Now that Drew had a good look at him, the first time since that _thing_ three days ago, he looked different. Disheartened. And afraid.

"Are you okay, Kenta-kun?"

That got Taichi and Mayu out of their couple-but-no-we're-not-really-a-couple antics.

Kenta looked at them, before shaking his head. "No, yeah. I'm fine." He grabbed his things, slung his shoulder bag and stood up. "See you tomorrow, okay? Bye."

Drew didn't believe he was fine one bit. "Uh... W-wait! I'm coming with you."

Kenta paused a little (Drew noticed that he kept a close eye at the Yokai) before waiting for her.

* * *

Since agreeing that Minato would be staying in the city, the assembled supernatural beings also discussed where to place Minato for the time being.

They settled for a hospital, with real doctors and science as a way to keep him in a stable condition. Magic could be convenient but since Hecate was unable to help Minato regain consciousness, this was the best course available. Hecate was Magic after all, and if the deification of Magic was unable to do anything, what could others do?

Normally, this would be a cause for concern, but Psyche had been adamant in her belief that Minato would wake up - his human soul was very resilient after all.

With the events concluded, most of the goddesses started to vanish.

Persephone and Thanatos said that they'd meet with Izanagi to tell her what happened before blending into the shadows, but not before forcing Psyche to part ways with the unconscious Minato (But he's soooo cute unconscious! He's like a cute, cute baby! Awww, okay fine. Bye Minato-kun!).

Nurahiyon instructed the local Yokai to keep an eye for Minato while Medea finished cleansing the battlefield and returning it to it's former glory. Medea would be picking Minato up later to drop him off a nearby hospital.

Hecate and Circe returned after fixing the damages they caused. They also apologized to Aphrodite and Drew for their actions, with mother and daughter dismissing it. "It was okay, you were under a spell after all."

And Aphrodite...

"Mom." Drew was speaking in English.

"That was quite an adventure."

"Didn't think the [East] would be just as chaotic as the [West]." Drew said simply.

"You know, you could still return to Camp. They're all waiting for you."

Drew shook her head. "You're not really a good liar. Besides, I like it here." There was a pause, "Thanks for allowing me to stay here."

Aphrodite smiled, her face shifting to a modelesque Japanese beauty. Straight hair, slim figure - a Yamato Nadeshiko. "I guess this was a good place for you to stay in. You being thankful was something I didn't think was possible."

Drew let out a dry laugh. "Well, that is true." She ran her hands over Kenta's hair.

"Is he..."

"Not my boyfriend." Her mother had that glint in her eye. "And no, don't. I don't want you messing up my relationships."

Aphrodite pouted. "But... you're just so cute together, with him on your lap and all."

Drew exhaled, "Don't remind me. And shoo, I'm going to wake him up now. I better return, dad's probably worried."

Her mother smiled. Genuinely, if Drew tried to analyze that glint of _something_ that was different from her usual beatific smiles.

"Take care. I'll always be watching over you." Aphrodite floated before vanishing too.

"Mom, eww. I don't want you watching over me when I'm doing my business especially in the bathroom."

Aphrodite actually laughed, "You know that's not what I meant."

Drew laughed too. "I know. Bye."

* * *

Drew and Kenta walked side-by-side. The sun has set, painting the environment in cool tones.

"Kenta-kun, I'm going to ask again: is everything okay?"

The young man turned to Drew before stopping. Drew stopped too, and turned around.

"That day..." He began, "That day, why didn't you want me to open my eyes?"

_That day?_

* * *

Kenta opened his eyes, meeting Drew's face.

"Good you've woken up." Drew smiled at him.

"What happened?" Kenta sat upright, massaging his temples.

Drew stood up, and massaged her thighs. "What do you remember?"

"I remember... the earthquake. And something heavy falling on me." He looked at Drew. Then the surroundings. "This doesn't look like my grandma's living room. Where are we?"

* * *

"How did you know Arisato-san was there?" Drew decided to ask. Before answering any of Kenta's questions, this question was more pressing. From what she could remember, when they were together during that time, not once has he seen Minato. When he was conscious, she made sure to close his eyes.

 _Unless_...

"You remember when you were..." When Circe transformed him.

Kenta looked away. "It doesn't make sense. Those... things werent supposed to be possible." He turned to Drew, "And you were there too!"

Drew flinched.

It's out.

* * *

The hike took approximately a few minutes back to civilization. Thankfully, since Kenta lived at the edge of the the city, his home was closeby.

"So you're telling me that you got separated from my grandma and your father, and got lost trying to find the nearest hospital?"

 _Please believe me  
please believe me  
_ _please believe me._

Drew could've used her Charmspeak to make him believe that, but she didn't want to. Using her powers on her precious people when it was convenient for her left a bad taste in her mouth. Earlier didn't count because she made Kenta fall asleep out of necessity - the supernatural needed to be kept secret.

"Weird, but okay."

Inwardly, Drew let out a sigh of relief. Another sigh of relief was when, five minutes later, they found a road. "Do you know where we are?"

Kenta looked around, before smiling. "Follow me."

It was only a couple of moments later when Drew's father found them.

* * *

The sky has passed the golden hour, painting the sky a beautiful color of indigo. There was a crow squawking from afar, but what Drew heard more was the silence. It was deafening.

Magic was real. And gods too. When one's worldview was not just challenged, but destroyed, that left the mind shattered.

Drew was never that affectionate to others and she's only heard from other campers how they became estranged after friends and family learned of the truth. It was an inevitability for people like her.

Now that she's started to open herself up more to others, it was painful.

Kenta was suffering because he learned the truth.

"I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"Don't come any closer."

Kenta was finding it hard to breathe, Drew could see that.

"I need a moment." Kenta tried to compose himself. Deep breaths. He closed his eyes. More deep breaths. " _Pfft._ "

A laugh. A loud, bellow-like laugh.

"Kenta-kun?"

He laughed. Laughed so hard, he cried. Drew wanted to approach him, "I said leave me alone for a bit."

He was still laughing, tears on his face. Until his laugh turned to cries. He was starting to hyperventilate too. "I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy."

"Kenta-kun..."

"Drew..." Her stoic friend, Kenta, so out of his element, "I'm not crazy, am I?"

She couldn't hold back herself anymore. She broke the distance and hugged him. "No. You're not crazy Kenta-kun."

"I thought I was seeing things, that I was losing it, but... thanks. Thank you."

Kenta had to compose himself for a moment.

Going home was out of the question now. So she sent a text to her father telling her that she'd be late.

She guided him to the nearby playground. It was near their house, and usually it would be occupied by children. But since it was night time now, they were the only two there.

Kenta was in the swing, staring at the ground, mind far away. Drew left him to fetch a drink over at a vending machine. And that's how she found him again when he returned.

"Here." It was a cool, fruity, fizzy drink. Kenta looked up for a moment before registering what she was offering.

"Thanks."

_Tsch-pah!_

Kenta tasted the drink as Drew settled at the seat beside Kenta. She looped her arms around the swing's chain before opening her drink too. From the same brand but with a different flavor.

For a moment, it was silence between the two friends. Drew swinging mindlessly and Kenta circling his finger on the ream of the can.

"You've lived your whole life like this then?" Kenta's voice broke their stupor.

Drew was taken back, unable to figure out how he was able to deduce that. "I guess."

"Does it get any better?" Kenta took a big swig of his drink.

Drew wanted to shrug. If it did, she wouldn't be here. In Japan. "It has to. At some point." But the truth of the matter is, Gaea was stirring trouble by awakening. The Seven were being assembled, and Drew ran away from her duty.

"You're bad at this you know." Kenta said with a light laugh.

"With what?"

"Lying. That didn't put me at ease at all." Kenta took another sip.

"Well, I did run away." She paused. "Did you know that? I ran away from my responsibilities in America."

Kenta turned to Drew. "This is the first time I'm hearing it."

* * *

Kenta has never once seen Drew as this enigmatic person, but seeing her share all this (of monsters, and gods, and the supernatural) and talk with a sure confidence that didn't show any hint of doubt, had chucked all the assumptions he had about Drew out the window.

True, he's never seen Drew as this vapid neo- _gyaru_ that some people made her to be, but he couldn't truly see her as this girl who acted as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. In his mind, Drew was this normal girl, who had normal likes, and lived a normal life with his father.

"Did you know that? I ran away from my responsibilities in America."

He looked at his friend. "This is the first time I'm hearing it."

And that's when Drew smiled for the first time. Not that she smiled rarely, but this smile was different.

It was a pained smile. A smile that conveyed all the hurt one has endured all this time. It was a smile that he didn't expect from Drew because it was a survivor's smile.

Drew was still beautiful as always, but that smile... it was the truest smile he's ever seen on her.

"There's a camp. In America." And he learned. Of her life. Never in his wildest dreams would he find Drew sharing her life story of monsters and gods in a deserted playground like it was some twisted TV drama.

Drew didn't stop with with her story. She continued passionately, elaborated on certain points, paused to recall something, and not once stopped to reconsider.

Kenta gobbled it up. Her story. Her life. Her struggles. It was rare to see this proud flower, blooming atop a hill, to be this open. This vulnerable. That she was sharing all of her fears and confusion. Not just that. Her hopes and wishes too.

And...

"Did you ever regret it?"

This was the first time Kenta spoke since Drew began. "Regret what?"

"Coming here. To Japan."

Drew took a sip from her can. "I'm not gonna lie and say I have no regrets." A pause. "But meeting you all. Having this conversation with you here. Meeting my dad..." she smiled.

"I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

* * *

Drew saw Kenta reach out to her. "Then it was all worth it." There was something on her head. A hand?

He was patting it. "You did what you had to do to survive. Don't blame yourself for doing what's best for you."

Drew sighed before sipping again. "I'm supposed to be comforting you, you know."

"Well, we're friends so I guess it's a mutual thing."

"True that."

A third voice broke their moment.

"Aww..." It was disappointed. "...and just when it was getting good."

It came from between them, from behind.

Drew's godly reflexes kicked in, and snapped back to the voice, a fist to retaliate.

It stopped when she saw who it came from.

"You're just a kid."

No taller than their sitting height. With dark hair and a pale complexion, he gave off a friendly yet mysterious vibe.

"Beat it." Drew said to the boy.

The boy made a face.

"Are you lost?" Kenta asked.

Now that Kenta mentioned it. For a night about to get chillier, this kid was wearing odd clothes. Pajamas with black and white patterns.

The boy tilted his head, internalized what Kenta just said before nodding.

"Lost. _Loooost_. Yeah." He nodded. "I guess I'm lost." He acted like getting lost was a new experience and he was about being lost.

"That's nice. So I guess we'll leave you with that." Drew stood up and finished her drink. She turned to Kenta and motioned for him to come. "Let's go. It's getting late."

"But what about the kid? We can't just leave him."

The young boy nodded. "He's right. I need you to help me."

"With what?"

"Going home, of course."

Drew was finding herself unable to pinpoint what made this boy rub off wrong for her, but it was clear to her that she didn't like being around the kid.

Wait. Residential District. A place for kids. Haunted. "You're not a ghost, are you?" Drew felt stupid asking but, with how weird and eclectic the Yokai were, that assumption couldn't be far from the truth.

That made Kenta sit upright.

The kid made a dismissive motion. "No. No. Of course not."

He grinned. His amber eyes glowing under the night sky.

"I'm a Persona."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> credits:
> 
> artist: _sousou_  
> [ https://twitter.com/_sousou_/ ]  
> [ sousouworks@gmail.com ]  
> [ http://pixiv.me/turtle ]  
> [ https://sousou.fanbox.cc ]  
> [ http://sousouworks.booth.pm ]


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

* * *

"How long are we gonna have to walk?" They followed the boy because the boy said that he just needs someone to accompany him. 'It's dangerous to walk home alone,' he said. As to the specific address of where this boy lived, he had a rough understanding of where he lived: on a tall box-like structure, in a quiet area, and ridiculously clean.

Kenta surmised that the boy probably lived in one of the high-end residential buildings the city allowed to build because it attracted people and, therefore, stimulated the city's economy.

There was one nearby too, which supported Kenta's hypothesis.

In fact, "Isn't that it?" Drew's friend leaned forward, meeting the boy's height, and pointed at a tall building from afar, almost a couple of blocks from where they are.

The boy tilted his head, "Maybe. I'm not so sure."

Drew knew there was a reason why she didn't like the kid. Totally sketchy. But Kenta was adamant that they needed to help the kid – even though he truly wasn't even a child.

"What even is a Persona?"

Kenta shrugged at her query.

The kid ignored her, eyes swimming at the sights (a deserted road in a residential district). It was as if this was the first time the kid was out on the world.

Drew wasn't _that_ dumb, because in America, she was the 'Asian' and had most of its American connotations and stereotypes ascribed to her: _smart_ (which she was, to some level of extent, but not on the level of Athena's kids, but who compares themselves to Athena's kids?). _quiet_ (lol, she isn't). _composed_ (well, she likes to think she's composed, but who can really say? She's part god after all.) All in all, Drew believed that she was a little over average but leagues beneath above average.

That did not mean she knew what a Persona was.

"Persona." She googled it on her phone then. "the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others. The heck?"

The boy turned to Drew and smiled knowingly. "Personas," he intoned, with wisdom that belie his childish appearance, "are largely divided by your personal and public variants."

If it wasn't any clearer, this boy was not some ordinary boy. "While animals follow their natural disposition, humans defy it."

A pause.

"Well, I knew of a dog who also defied his natural disposition." A fond smile. A thousand-yard stare contradicted by a smile that was truthful as it was sincere. It was unnerving.

"Humans," there was a pause again. "Well, I'd like to think that most sentient beings, possess their own unique "self" and live with their own personal convictions. Your personal persona is in regard to concepts like personal awareness while your public persona…"

He turned around and assumed a thinking pose, "I guess it's like wearing a mask."

Kenta hummed thoughtfully, "You're pretty smart, for a kid."

The last time Drew checked her clock, it was way past 7. And while they were in _their_ neighborhood, being with this boy made her hairs stand on end.

The boy laughed, dismissively, "Not really. I just happen to be acquainted with a well-known humanist."

"Humanist." Kenta repeated the word.

" _Humanist_." The boy said in English.

"You haven't answered the question though." Drew pressed.

"I did." The boy smiled.

"Technically you did," Drew started, "But that doesn't explain what you are. You said you're a Persona."

"I am."

Drew was getting frustrated. "What does that mean?"

A trickster's smile. The boy wore it. "The you that you are right now, is you right?"

"Huh? You're not making any sense."

The boy twirled with great ceremony, like he was acting out an elaborate dance. "When you're at home, you wear the mask of being a 'daughter'. At school, a mask of a 'student'. In a shop, you put on the mask of a 'customer'. 'Friend'. 'Foe'. 'Acquaintance'. 'Lover'. 'Executioner'. 'Savior'. 'Demoness'. 'Goddess'."

He laughed. "Humans are such terribly complicated creatures."

The moon was bright again. Its brilliance reflected in the boy's amber eyes. "But as for me, well..."

Then the world melted. Light was absorbed. The streetlight dimmed for a moment, it's orange hue changing into that of a sickly green. Stains appeared on the paved walls – _dried blood!_ And Drew's cellphone died.

"I am a Persona." **  
The True Self.**

 **Let Me Ask Again,  
** **The You That You Are Right Now, Who Is It?**

* * *

It was an isolated situation. Later, when everything was done, in a certain city in a certain country, people woke up to find that their clocks were adjusted an hour later.

They were near the equator and didn't need the convoluted system of 'Daylight Time Savings' so it was a conspiracy that bred rumors.

When _it_ was happening, it was different. Everyone was in an uproar.

But contrary to such an incident, nothing harmful happened. Yokai reported that nothing strange happened, but then again, time was a construct that didn't matter to supernatural beings like them. They were ethereal, immaterial, displaced from human constructs, so it was unreliable at best.

The local Buddhist reported eerie sightings of creatures but proved to be inconclusive.

It was nothing. Really. _Right?_

* * *

Takamagahara demanded a report about that certain city, but the nearest representative, a god with modest followers who lived in a shrine atop a mountain, said that there was nothing to worry about.

Being further pressed made said god shed his benevolence and don that of a frenzied one. "Believe me when I say that there is nothing to worry about."

From _Chihayafuru_ (ちはやふる) to _Araburu_ (荒ぶる) _.  
_ From [Impassioned] to [Frenzied].

It was enough to placate most of the gods there.

But not _him_.

"Foreigners on our land, encroaching like a disease." He had an exquisite face with a lean body. Garbed in the best robes, he was _the_ presence in the hall, especially with his sister absent. She was still upset over his actions from long, long ago. An _Ikemen_ to modern Japan. " _Repulsive_."

Hair dark as night; with eyes so deep, it was like looking into a pond on a moonlit night; and complexion so flawless it was like ivory. He was a god of considerable standing in appearance, stature, recognition, benevolence and popularity.

"But he is not a disease." The god with modest followers said in disagreement. "He…" he paused, because this was Takamagahara, a place where hierarchy and seniority were important.

"Speak." The _Ikemen_ god said, features looking immaculate despite the irritation that dare graced his face.

The modest god couldn't answer. A precarious situation: speak the truth and be branded a blasphemer or lie and lose all credibility.

"…Er."

A third voice broke the silence.

"He is [Exalted]."

Bedlam. Unrestrained whispers. Murmurs that lost its sense of tact and modesty.

In the hall where _kami_ conducted important meetings, those that were considered benevolent lost their composure.

The god who spoke was none other than Ebisu. One of the _purest_ Japanese gods in existence – for being a naturally-born Japanese god.

God of Fortune.

For a God of Fortune to say that he is Exalted.

More bedlam.

* * *

Drew opened her eyes.

Nothing out of the ordin- _wait_.

"Where are we?" They were still in the same place… but… Something was off about it.

Her godly heritage was screaming for a weapon, and her hand immediately reached for it.

A gift from her mother, when she visited yesterday. A hairpin that turned into a small dagger. It had no name, but it would suffice.

"Kenta?"

There was a groan behind her.

Her friend was on the ground, getting up. "What happened?"

_Uwwwwwwaargh!_

Drew caught a glimpse of the cause of such an _otherworldly_ wail but then the next thing she knew, she was running. Away from it. With Kenta's hand grasped tightly in hers.

"Drew! Drew! Stop!"

She did. Because she had been on auto-pilot, she didn't realize that she had dragged Kenta into a narrow, secluded alley.

"What was that?" It was Drew who asked.

"I dunno…" Kenta, despite being an athlete, was out of breath. "I… I don't… remember…?"

It was normal for mundanes to run away then forget about what they saw. It's their instinct for self-preservation: they ran (for their body) and forgot (for their mind).

But Drew wasn't mundane. Despite being part god, she was also human. So while she ran, she didn't forget.

It was ebony. They ran from someone garbed in ebony colors. It looked human, _humanoid_ , she corrected. She recalled its wings. Made from splendid silver. Ivory was the color of its limbs. And it's face…

_Uwwwwwwaargh!_

Drew wanted to run away again, but this time controlled herself. Kenta shot up, his body twitching to run, sweat dripping on his face.

"Let's hide. Here." Drew said, peeking outside.

It was those _things_ again. They were like the same ones from three days ago. But this time they were purely black. Formless. Moving shadows.

They were in hordes.

One saw her.

They fled.

* * *

Chiron was looking up at the sky. Apollo has just finished his daily rituals, but…

Something was off about it. Not because something ominous was happening, no, in fact, something was being celebrated.

Approximately two nights ago, the _night sky_ was celebrating. Or more specifically, Pisces. The heroic fish that was favored by Aphrodite. And also…

It was faint, because while Chiron had a connection to the Centaurus constellation, it was muddled because there were times when he was associated with Sagittarius. But just the same, and because of his association to _two_ constellations, he could feel that something was happening up there. There were whispers. From Pisces. A murmur that was barely audible.

"Ikhthus"

Chiron's hair stood on end. _I hope it's nothing_.

* * *

Takamagahara felt it.

Another _blight._

"Just when Amaterasu is unavailable." The ikemen god hissed.

He turned his back to the assembled gods. He should let them prattle and worry themselves to death. But Japan will not fall under _his_ watch. They were _Amatsukami_ and he their leader.

The god started to glow. Brighter, and brighter. So bright that most gods shielded their eyes.

His exquisite clothes were gone, replaced into full war-god regalia. He wasn't truly one, but since Amaterasu was not available, it was up to him.

A _blight_ appearing again during his watch, _How unsightly._

The first time, they were unprepared. This time…

 **Takamagahara is besieged by enemies  
** **You who stand with me, you whom the people have trusted**

**Will you standby and let them walk into our land?**

**I, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto,  
** **Watcher Of The Moonlit Night  
** **Refuse To Lay Down And Do Nothing.**

* * *

**RESCUE ARC**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> credits:
> 
> @japanfolder for stock image used  
> [ https://twitter.com/japanfolder ]


	3. Chapter 3

They were running. Drew and Kenta.

Those ink-like blobs - [Shadows] - were after them.

It was a good thing she still recognized where they were: they were still basically in their neighborhood, albeit in a twisted, horror-esque version of it, but at least she recognized all the important landmarks and such.

The houses were uninhabited- _unlived_ was what she should use because they were not only empty but had no traces of ever having been resided in.

The cement-work were bloodstained, with ghastly images like they were in a slasher movie set.

It would have been too dark to see if not for the working streetlights. But instead of their fluorescent lighting (or orange-hued from the older parts of their neighborhood), all lights sported sickly greenish hues. Not only that...

"I've never seen the moon so big." Kenta's eyes were up. Despite being dragged by Drew, he had the energy and enough spare attention to look at the night sky.

"Really?" Drew's godly heritage was enough to offer a few seconds of dialogue in-between breaths. "We're running for our lives and you're more interested in the moon?"

Kenta let out a gruntled laugh. They were running of course, but his body felt lighter, and had more energy to spare. "Sorry about that. This is a first for me. Running from monsters."

They were running into a curb, but Drew still knew where they were. Just around a corner and they'll be in a nearby convenience store. The one she passed by daily on the way to school. "Kenta, we're going to the right, okay?"

"Got it!"

* * *

It was quiet. Where was he?  
It was dark. Why can't he hear himself?

Panic. But...

He composed himself. Where was this place?

He tried to look around, only to see nothingness all around.

_Ah!_

_There's a glimmer over there_. What is that?

Slowly, he took a step forward.  
But found the experience more akin to swimming.

Nonetheless  
he moved forward.

* * *

The duo took that turn and continued onward. Drew was starting to worry because Kenta was starting to tire. She'd pushed him beyond his limits earlier, subtly using her Charmspeak to increase his stamina, but there were limits to his body. Any further than that and she could risk doing permanent damage to him.

"Over there!" The _konbini_ 's sliding door was opened slightly, as if it stopped working just when it was starting to close.

Kenta and Drew fit in the slight part, and they entered without much difficulty.

Drew peeked at the view outside. The Shadows had just appeared from the curb and continued their chase. A chase that Drew and Kenta no longer participated in.

Kenta was out of breath, beads of sweat running down his body. With all that energy gone, all that was left was tiredness. He collapsed on the ground, sitting with his arms supporting him up. "That... I've never... run... so much... before..."

Drew was still alert, the grip on her dagger never faltering. "Shh..."

Kenta nodded, but still out of breath. To compromise, he laid completely down on the floor, using both of his hands to cover his mouth, reducing the sounds of his heavy breathing.

The store didn't have anything in it: rows and rows of empty racks of where products were supposed to be. Though there were refrigerators on the other side, there was nothing on display. It wasn't even on.

Though the lights were on, that was the only thing that worked.

"What's that noise?"

_hummmmmmm..._

It sounded like a machine, but not really.

Just outside, it came from there.

Slowly, Drew peeked outside, from the parted entrance. Something was coming...

* * *

Mayu was not exactly a people-person. She was reserved girl who liked to spend her time doing things in silence. Reading, studying and flower pressing were her hobbies. Now, her hobby was in writing. She's actually a web novelist with a modest yet loyal number of readers.

She was getting to the point where publishing companies were starting to notice her work. In fact, one contacted her just the other day. Well, she hasn't read their email yet so she couldn't really say that she's had contact with a publishing company but... you know...

Besides she was building up the courage to open it. She'll open it tonight. Maybe.

Her friends also didn't know this side of her because she hid behind a pen name. Well, Drew knew because she accidentally stumbled upon one of Mayu's notes one time when they were hanging out. But it was Drew, and it ended well.

In fact, it was Drew who encouraged her to publish her story online. Mayu at first didn't want to but the two friends stuck with a compromise: publish the story but under a pen name. A pen name gave her security, away from the scrutiny most published authors faced on and offline. A breathing room that let her have a balance between her normal, high school self, and a web novelist who just passed her 15K mark.

 _Ding_!

The steel doors opened, and her thoughts faded into the background as she focused on the task at hand.

The first thing she noticed were the neatness of it all. Polished floors, clean surroundings, and the subdued feeling it gave off. Some might describe it eerie, while others might say comforting.

Focus. She had this habit: when she was thinking about her story's progress, or about writing in general, her mind just wanders.

Her journey led her to a door. It was a sliding door. She slid it open.

"Mom?"

It was dark. She opened the door further, but the darkness was overpowering.

"I'm being overdramatic." She muttered out loud. She used her hands to sense the light switch.

 _Click_!

"Wait... this isn't?"

There was a cough behind her.

* * *

"What the fu-" Drew didn't recognize the voice, but it was human.

There was a human here.

And that hum.

Kenta's curiosity made him sit up and check it too. She could feel his breath by her nape.

"That is..."

"Huh? You know him?"

Kenta didn't answer. Instead, he placed a hand over her shoulder, pushed her lightly aside, and left the store. "Kenta?"

The male outside was cursing. His voice rough and annoyed. His hair was orange, a product of what is most likely a do-it-yourself bleach kit bought for cheap. A poorly-kept dye job, mind you because his roots were unsightly, Drew thought. And that hairband didn't help hiding it one bit. In fact, with it sleeked back like that thanks to the hairband, it looked like this boy wanted people to see his unbleached roots.

"Shuhei...?"

Drew was aware that friends generally had other friend groups they hung out with, but this was Kenta they were talking about. The most normal out of all of them. Sure, he was an athlete, but Kenta was no jock. Well, he's not like the jocks she knew from America, but Kenta was a nice man.

It turned out that the humming sound came from a motorcycle. With a freakin vertical flag banner attached to it. The calligraphy on it was... _urgh_. _Ew_.

"Kenta?" The boy called Shuhei finally noticed them.

Now that Drew's had a look at the boy, she could scrutinize him further. In her head of course, she wasn't _that_ mean. Baggy black pants, bandages on his lower abdomen, a repurposed gakuran jacket that he wore with nothing underneath. His nipples were showing too. Granted he had the physique that wouldn't be ashamed for something like wearing a jacket with no shirt underneath but... _Blearghh~_

A _yankii_. Definitely a delinquent.

"Shuhei? What are you doing here?"

Kenta apparently knew him. Nope! I refuse to believe that kind, gentle Kenta is friends with this... this...

"Kenta!" the delinquent grinned and jumped to her friend, engulfing him into a hug. "Bro! It's so good to see you!"

_Noooooooooo~~~_

Drew felt like she turned into stone. No. No. They're probably just acting buddy-buddy. Boys do this. Kenta's gentle image wouldn't be tarnished that easily.

A moment passed and Kenta asked his question again.

"What do you mean 'what am I doing here'? I was here all along. My bros and I were just hanging out, like usual. Smoking, chilling, and then everything turned black and _bam_! I'm here by myself. I was about to go look for the others when those- _what were those things_?"

Shuhei started another litany of curses, a frenzied look on his face as he stomped and started to flail around.

Drew felt bad for the boy. Unfortunately, that was a normal reaction whenever mundanes saw the supernatural. And that was one of the tamer reactions.

"Shuhei! Shuhei! Get a hold of yourself-"

_Uwwwwwwaargh!_

There was that wail again. Drew's hand twitched, gripping her dagger harder.

Shuhei and Kenta froze and fell on the ground. Shuhei more visibly affected as evidence by his shaking body.

Drew was about to call them in when the Shadows appeared. But unlike the mob from before, there were four of them.

Four pools of ink-like monsters with hollow eyes and circular mouths.

Drew's body acted on autopilot.

She quickly slipped through the small parting on the sliding door and made a sprint to the nearest Shadow.

Her dagger was more for stabbing and (to some extent) slashing. She feared that it wouldn't be that useful against blobs, but when the tip of her blade connected and pierced through the blob, the shadow let out a pained cry.

The wail surprised Drew, which made her retreat to Kenta and Shuhei.

"Drew!" Kenta's voice of surprise was both worried and in awe.

"Who?"

"Never mind that," Drew and the others were surrounded. Four on each corner. The deserted area made for a lot of maneuvering, but she couldn't risk letting the other two get hurt. "You need to get to safety."

She pointed at the convenience store. "Get back inside."

"But what about you?"

Drew turned to Kenta. She smiled.

"I'll be fine."

* * *

"You know what a death flag is?" Mayu was seated, beside him was a boy who appeared to be in her age group.

"No," his reply was polite, soft, but confident too, "please, enlighten me."

"It's when characters do certain trope-like things that ultimately leads to their demise." She grabbed the hem of her shirt and stared running the tips of her fingers on it. She did this when she was trying to be honest. "But then again, not like that happens in real life, right?"

* * *

Kenta didn't want to follow Drew's orders. At first, she disagreed, but then, she spoke in this _serious_ tone, and the next thing, he's slipping inside the convenience store, with Shuhei hot on his tracks.

"What are those things?"

Kenta didn't know either, but he settled with monsters.

"For real? I mean I'm looking at it, but..." he exhaled. "Okay, okay. I've got it. Monsters are real."

For a moment, silence.

"Also, bro, who's she?"

"Shh..." He placed his forefinger into his mouth as he watched the battle.

Drew had stabbed one of the Shadows to death, turning into floating black wisps that vanished into thin air.

Shuhei's voice was below a whisper, "Y'know, why're we letting a girl protect us? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

"Your worldviews are outdated." Kenta said. "My friend there is fighting for our sake, and you notice _that_ of all things?" Well, granted, if he hadn't met Drew and hadn't befriended strong-willed women like her and Mayu, then he might still share Shuhei's views.

"Well, she's hot. Is she taken?"

"Fuck off." His gaze was icy. Resembling the time before he made friends in school.

"Well, sorry, and maybe you're right. I'm also coping with all this, so you have to give me some breathing room. It also doesn't change the fact that your friend is out there alone. Fighting three-to-one. Woah!"

Kenta couldn't agree more because Drew did this flip that somehow let her strike a Shadow twice. In midair.

"No panty shot." Shuhei commented as Drew's school skirt rose up and exposed black cycling shorts.

That made him smack Shuhei's head. Hard.

"What? That's part of the _seifuku_ appeal. A girl fightin' in one is supposed to offer panty shots. Warranted or not."

"This isn't one of your stupid manga." Kenta felt like he was losing braincells talking to Shuhei.

 _I need to help Drew_. He turned around. _There must be something here I can use…_

The store was definitely empty. Nothing he could use as a-wait.

That's a mop.

He ran quietly, careful not to make too much noises as to alert the Shadows.

It was a little over his height. A suitably sturdy wooden mop. But the ends however...

He set mop end on the floor and set the other side atop the counter. With it set diagonally, Kenta went to the mop end and jumped on it. Using his weight to make the wooden mop break.

_Creaakkkkkkk-crack!_

With his deed done, Kenta picked up his handiwork.

A stick, with a splintered tip. Perfect for piercing.

A weapon.

* * *

Drew didn't think that fighting these four would be easy, but it was surprisingly doable. These shadows just needed to be consistently damaged until it was destroyed.

In fact, she had just completed destroying her second one.

_Good._

She needed to take out two more.

She needed to be careful and-

_Fuck!_

She dodged one of the shadows but failed to notice that the other one. A claw-like appendage appeared on its side and tried to slash her.

_Quick, evade. Evade. Evade. Evade the blow, damn it._

While she was willing her body to move, to turn around to avoid the attack, she was only able to partially shield her body from a fatal damage. It was fortunate, but that still didn't stop the attack. She still got injured.

A slash from her right elbow to below her lower back.

It stung. It hurt a lot. But she'll live. Her uniform's ruined. But that wasn't her concern. She needed to protect people. She needed to keep Kenta safe-

"Hurryahh!"

"Kenta?" He used a crude spear managed to hit and pin a shadow on the ground.

"Quick!"

Drew didn't think much of it because Kenta created an opportunity. "Got it." She used her dagger to send stabbing attacks at the pinned Shadow.

Three down. One to-

"Kenta, look out!"

The Shadow didn't finish his attack. It got smacked on the ground by a steel baseball bat.

"Phew, that takes care of that." Shuhei appeared, wiping a bead of sweat using his arm, slinging bat over his shoulder.

* * *

Mayu didn't think spending time with some stranger could feel so worthwhile. Then again, he was someone acquainted to someone she knew.

The boy was, from what she could discern, recovering from an injury. Bandages, surrounding one of his eyes.

Seeing as it was her first conversation with him, she didn't think it would be polite to ask what happened to it. But that did leave her wondering.

"Well, it was nice meeting you." Mayu bowed, noticing her watch. Her mother's probably wondering where she was.

"Yes. It was nice meeting you too." the boy said, with a slight wave of his hands.

There was a pause.

"Think we'll see each other again?" The boy asked.

Mayu shrugged. "I don't even know your name." Funny because their mutual friend, they knew well.

The boy smiled. "Īsan. Nakamura Īsan."

That made Mayu laugh. "Well then, Nakamura-san-"

"Please, call me Īsan."

"Īsan," Mayu said it with confidence. "My name is Mayu."

Another pause.

"No family name?" Īsan quipped.

Mayu stood up and took a deep breath. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

And then she entered. Entered the right entrance this time.


	4. Chapter 4

" _Ara-ara_ …"

The yokai let out a surprised sigh.

Three factions were currently looking at the anomaly.

The first on the scene was the Buddhist sect. Truthfully, ever since the appearance of _that boy_ this town kept getting weirder. Not that he could complain, _that boy_ was pro-humanity.

The second to arrive was the nearby Priestess who served a _kami_ enshrined in a temple by the mountains. She looked disgruntled because, supposedly, today was her day off.

The third faction belonged to the Yokai. Specifically, a long-necked lady called _rokurokubi_ and a few others. The _rokurokubi_ acted as the yokai's defacto leader and speaker for the moment.

A few feet from them was… "A different world _?_ "

The Buddhist priest was still having difficulty interacting with the local monsters. Normally, he would have been purifying them left and right but ever since the appearance of _that boy_ , the priest had been needing to use his powers less and less.

There was just something about the boy that made them, _all_ yokai (as far as the Buddhist knew), behave.

"What do you mean by 'a different world'?" The Priestess was perplexed. She knew that it was the right thing to get the opinion of yokai because they were more attuned to the world than humans, but their answers were inconclusive and confusing. The local yokai didn't have the verbal intelligence to eloquently explain what was happening. Even the smarter of the bunch resorted to onomatopoeias and bodily action to express what was happening.

The long neck of the rokurokubi coiled and turned spring-like. Frankly, it looked like she had a very thick scarf, if not for the fact that her head was upside down. She had a look that implied that she was in deep thought, but the Priestess doubted that her stance was comfortable. It would have looked grotesque to the untrained eye, but the Buddhist and the Priestess were well-versed with these kinds of things. "Well, it has a similar feel to those beings that came here a couple of days ago, but Minato-sama wouldn't let that happen."

In chorus, the assembled yokai (from frogs wearing kimonos to crows in top hats) agreed. "Minato-sama!"

 _Minato-sama is sooooo cool!  
_ _Minato-sama is really nice too!  
_ _He talked to me once!  
_ _He helped me that time when-_

"Okay, okay… settle down." The Buddhist was just a casual practitioner. He didn't look like most Buddhists and was easily lured by earthly desires. Mostly cigarettes. But his powers, according to his sect, was close to peerless. He wasn't a skinhead too. Because _eww._

In fact, he'd bleached his hair platinum blonde and styled it _ikemen_ -style. It contrasted starkly with his almond skin and made him standout whenever he was out (especially when he was in civilian clothes).

The only reason why he remained in the sect was because they provided him with an upkeep that was both lucrative and low-effort. Especially now that Minato's strange presence seemed to keep these monsters well-behaved.

When the monsters settled down, he started asking even more questions:

What was happening?  
When did this start happening?  
How big is this anomaly?  
Has anyone entered it?  
Has anyone returned after entering it?

The yokai answered them:

"We don't know."  
"Just tonight."  
"Well five of your -how did Minato-sama say it?- blocks."  
"Yes."  
"Well, they got repelled when they tried entering."

The Buddhist let out a low whistle when they said almost five blocks. "Takamagahara wasn't able to foresee this?"

The Priestess tilted her head. "Like it's _that_ easy to know how Anomalies worked."

* * *

"Drew!"

Kenta thought everything was alright when they defeated those monsters but then Drew turned sickly pale and she collapsed before him.

He caught her mid fall though, but when he looked over her shoulder. "Drew, you're bleeding."

"Dude, she knows that." Shuhei said, walking towards them.

"Not helping," Kenta's glare could pierce anything.

"She needs help." Said Shuhei.

"Thanks, you're such a genius!" Kenta's voice was full of sarcasm.

Before the two boys devolved into a shouting match:

" _hee-hee-hee_ ~"

"Shh!" Kenta placed his forefinger over his lips. His eyes darted around.

_Over there! By the lamppost._

One of the street lights didn't have that sickly-green hue. In fact, it appeared like an average fluorescent light.

Surprisingly, the light 'popped out' and flew towards them.

Kenta protectively tried to shield Drew's unconscious form but the light stop just in front of them.

It's a floating ball of- wait.

His eyes were starting to focus. It's... a small, feminine, human-like form. In blue clothes, with red hair. A childish, prankster smile. Her mouth moved.

" _Dia_."

* * *

Drew groaned. What is it with her and losing consciousness? This happened three days ago as well. The incident with Minato.

 _Is it because I'm physically weak?_ Well, she has been known to put in so little effort to practice fighting but-

"Drew?"

She was moving. But at the same time she was stationary.

Her feet dangled in the air too. And her arms were snaked around something.

There was a strong scent of pine. And musk. Not overpowering, mind you, but enough for her to recognize a male.

Her chin rested on something... _muscle?_

Then she recognized that she was leaning onto something. Her torso resting on something broad. There was also something wrapped on her thighs. _Arms?_

_I'm riding piggyback...?_

"Kenta?" her voice was tired. Like her energy has been sapped.

"You okay?"

Doesn't mean she was out of commission. "Yeah..."

"What happened?" Her back was sore-

"My back! I was injured!" Immediately, she used a hand to touch her back– _pristine skin_. Skin of a daughter of Aphrodite. Granted, children of Aphrodite had the regenerative capabilities more akin to rewinding time because (unless it heightened one's aesthetic) scars were close to an impossibility.

"This little fella helped us."

She turned and that yanki guy was right behind them. On his shoulder sat a ball of light. _No. There's something. Wings?_

"A _yosei_?" No. It didn't have that eastern flair. There were different kinds of creatures despite being the same. Just like how there different types of apples and such.

"A _fairy_." Fairy. In English. Closest thing that could describe it was Disney's Tinkerbell but with blue clothes and red hair. But instead of the cutesy appearance and mannerisms, it looked akin to one of the younger prankster kids from Camp, with toothy grins that was innocent yet cruel.

"Is this what this is?" the boy named Shuhei asked, using his forefinger to lightly poke at the being.

Said being recoiled in glee. Like it touched a ticklish spot.

"She's been trying to talk to us but I guess we couldn't hear her."

To put emphasis, the fairy stood on Shuhei's shoulder, stomped her foot (though Shuhei didn't seem to feel it) and screamed at the top of her lungs.

" _Aaaaaaaahhhhhh_!"

Drew raised a brow. She could hear the fairy just fine.

"Really?" the fairy said, flapping her wings and floating towards her. "You can hear me? For real?"

"Get away!" The fairy was all up in her face, which made Drew try to swat it.

"Hey!" Shuhei yelled. "No need to hurt it!"

"Well, either that or burning my retinas." The fairy did glow, brightly. It was like staring into a lighbulb upclose.

"Whatever," the fairy said, flipping its hair. "But can you really hear me?"

"Yes, I could hear you fine. Happy?"

"You could hear it/me?" The three asked in unison.

"YES!" Drew wanted to groan, these three were acting stupid.

"Ask why it wants us to follow it." Kenta asked, kneeling on the ground. Drew felt her feet touch the ground and she stood upright. She thanked Kenta. Fortunately, her clothes weren't _that_ ruined. Only the back of her clothes left her exposed. _Well my bra strap got destroyed but it's still not that big of a deal._

"Somewhere?"

Shuhei stepped forward, eager and all, "Yes, it's been trying to guide us there." He pointed into the horizon. High above some hill, just on the edge of the mountain. His forefinger pointed at a building. With concrete walls and a clean landscape.

"I don't think it wants us there." Could be a trap.

"Yeah-uh!" The fairy crossed her arms and made a ' _harumph!'_ so action, blowing her hair upward. "That's where you all need to be."

"Why?" Drew was skeptical. There were still definitely in their neighborhood but at the same time this wasn't their neighborhood.

"Well-"

"What's it saying?" Shuhei was almost only a foot away from Drew and it felt like he was invading her personal space.

Drew's brows knitted in annoyance, and she _shushed_ him.

"Reaooooooorrraawwwgh!"

There was that inhumane growl again.

And the three immediately ran away from its direction.

The fairy however, tried to stop them. It grabbed Drew by the hair and pulled. Of course it didn't stop her, and ended up getting dragged by Drew.

"Listen! Listen! Stop!"

"We're busy running away!" Drew didn't care if she was stating the obvious, because a part of herself simply feared whatever it was that could cry(? Howl? Roar?) like that on a basic, primal, human level.

"No! No! No! Don't run away. He's good. He's a good guy."

"I find that hard to believe!"

"You've got to trust me."

"Why? We don't even know you!" They ended up in an intersection. One road led downhill while the other led uphill.

Then something jumped above them, creating a shadow beneath them, and landing in front of them. The earth cracked on the impact, a plume of dust emerging from the force. It roared again, immediately clearing the dust.

Drew's body recoiled at the sight.

Velvet-white skin. An inhumane gait. Almost nine-feet tall. Its wings were made from shiny silver.

His aura was suffocating. It was like being under pressure, deep in the sea. Like that one time she tried scuba diving. But worse. A thousand times worse.

For a moment, time stood still. Drew, protectively standing between the unsightly thing and the two mortals, was sweating profusely despite freezing. She didn't breathe, she didn't move. She gripped her weapon tighter.

In the cool, night air, the thing's breath created white fog. Its eyes...

The fairy didn't fear it, however.

"Pharos!" The fairy said, waving an arm.

The thing stopped to look at the fairy before standing down. Suddenly, the reality shifted. It cracked and broke like glass, and then it was back again. The thing was once again a boy.

The same boy.

"Phew, I finally found you!"

* * *

The Buddhist and the Priestess felt a disturbance in the air.

No, it did not come from the anomaly, but it came from elsewhere.

"Up there! Look!" the assembled yokai pointed paws, limbs and claws into the night sky.

Like the moon emerging from the clouds, it came.

Takamagahara. Or a portion of it.

Carried atop floating clouds, they descended to the surface.

There were a few of them, but judging from a country with a least a hundred thousand of them, a few in Japan were still a lot as compared to other pantheons.

Leading them was a man.

* * *

With her mom already resting for the day, Mayu now had the time to check _that_ email.

Rummaging through her backpack, she pulled out her laptop, plopped on a nearby seat and pressed the power button.

She tried to be careful considering it was already night time and she didn't want to disturb the neighbors so she chose a place that was furthest from the room's entrance.

Before checking the email, however, she once again checked if someone left a comment on her newest chapter.

Nothing.

Okay, so she tried to reread her latest update again, found a typo, called herself an idiot for not seeing that typo, and ended up rewriting a paragraph because a section of her chapter didn't make sense once she edited that typo.

 _Cool. Everything's up to my standard_. Mayu said as she hit the 'publish' button.

Only _then_ did she open her email.

But since the page loaded long (like five seconds long), she ended up opening another tap on her browser and rereading her previous chapter, which ended with her checking if something she said five chapters ago coincided with this chapter, and ultimately ended with her rereading one of the more in-depth comments discussing character growth and constructive criticisms.

When she was already finished with _that_. _Then_ she returned to the tab that had her email.

Scrolling through the mountains of comment alerts that she's never going to delete (because to her, it made her feel like she had tons of comments in her story), she found that infamous email.

She took a deep breath and... _didn't_ open it.

She looked out the window.

She then squinted her eyes.

"Drew?"

* * *

"And you promise that Kenta and that guy will be fine?" Drew was following the boy named Pharos.

"Yes. I promise." The kid turned and gave Drew an eerie smile.

"If you didn't do what you did earlier, then I wouldn't believe you." She tried to ignore the smelly PE shirt that she wore, but it was either that or wearing her bloody, tattered uniform.

Drew let out a frustrated groan when she once again remembered how her bra didn't survive. The straps had been reduced to shreds when she got injured. Worse, she was going braless.

 _And Kenta_ _and that perv definitely noticed!_ Her nipples. Though she had a change of clothes, which she did behind some tall shrubs, it was still embarrassing. The cold made her nipples perk up and poke through.

Good think their school's PE was a deep, dark navy blue color because if it were white.

Drew shivered.

"You should believe in people more." Pharos said.

"You aren't human, though." Drew replied dismissively.

Instead of being hurt, the boy laughed. "Too true. Too true."

Drew let out a frustrated sigh. Cell service was still out, her father was most likely worried sick, and she made a deal with this... Persona, was what he said.

It was obvious that she was ignoring red flags and was unwillingly being manipulated behind the curtains. But if it meant that she monopolized this being attention and kept Kenta safe, she was fine. Kenta being with that harmless fairy was definitely a plus too.

* * *

"Achoo!"

Kenta noticed the fairy sneeze. The force of it was enough to send the fairy careening backwards, and slamming into Kenta's chest.

Apparently only Drew could hear whatever this fairy was saying. Well, there was that boy Pharos too, but according to Drew, he wasn't really _truly_ human. Whatever that meant.

Pharos and Drew also had a conversation that he had trouble keeping up with.

Something about cycles and the arcane(?). _Arcana! Yeah, that._

Anyway, it ended with Drew accompanying Pharos to the building up the hill while Kenta and Shuhei were coerced by Drew to follow the fairy down the hill.

If it were up to Kenta, they shouldn't split up. And while this wasn't a slasher-horror situation, this was _real_ life after all, danger was still present.

There were those [Shadow] things that Drew and Pharos talked about.

"I can't."

"Kenta?"

The boy turned. "I can't leave her alone like this." Drew was doing something potentially dangerous so that he and Shuhei could be safe. Despite her _tsun-tsun-_ ness which some described as her bitchy attitude, her _dere-dere_ were off the charts. _What am I thinking_ _?_ Since when did he use her otaku-lexicon? She was a girl who tried to be standoffish and guarded but once you got through that... Some friend he was. "I'm going after her." How did she even managed to convince him to leave her? It was like her tone made him believe what she was saying… like she was _commanding_ him.

He turned to Shuhei, then to the fairy. He didn't need their permission. It was a declaration after all.

Shuhei grinned. "You don't need to tell me twice. I'm in."

That wasn't Kenta's intention. He was about to voice it out when the fairy too puffed out its chest and looked smug. He couldn't understand what it was saying but the mannerisms spoke enough. _'Me too'_

* * *

"What are we even doing here?" Drew managed to enter the place. Outside, it was deserted. Inside moreso. It was sepulchrally quiet too. No sounds from woodland creatures and no hum from modern machines.

Her steps echoed in the deserted hallways. Despite wanting to keep quiet, it was loud. Fortunately, it wasn't dark. And she could see far beyond into the corridor because by some magical convenience, the lights still worked. _Still as eerie green as outside, though_.

"You're just about the only person we think can help us."

Pharos said, tilting his head to her. His amber eyes glinting in the darkness.

"By that, you mean?"

The boy smiled. "I mean you're the only one we think could undo what has been done."

* * *

"This isn't making any sense!" Kenta could see the frustration on Shuhei's face. They entered the place where the fairy guided them.

The front area was the reception area. Just like any building. But then after realizing that the elevator was broken, the two used the stairs to get up a floor.

But the second floor didn't make any architectural sense. It was like the inside was much bigger than the outside. Like a…

"A labyrinth." Kenta said, recalling some information their literature instructor said in class once.

" _Meikyuu?"_ Then again, Shuhei wouldn't know because he doesn't regularly attend his classes. So while Kenta said the word in their mother tongue, there was no way Shuhei would have known about it.

"A maze. We're in a maze."

Shuhei made an ' _ahh!_ ' face and smacked his fist on his palm. He then placed an arm over his shoulder, "Kenta, you're so smart!"

" _Ano…"_

Kenta felt someone grab a hold of his arm.

Warm hands. He turned.

"Mayu?"

Then, everything got bright.


	5. Chapter 5

The world dimmed after that. _No, that isn't it_. Kenta realized that he had closed his eyes.

"Kenta-kun?" Mayu looked at him with a tilted head. "What're you doing here?"

For the first time, Kenta looked around. The walls that had eerie bloodstains were gone. It was back to it's unsullied, spotless condition. The corridor was brighter than ever now that it wasn't just the lights that were on, most especially since their greenish hues were gone. And there were noises. Human, mechanical and non-human. There was movement and _life_ here.

"Shu-?" He turned, and the yankii was gone. Like a shadow snuffed by light.

* * *

"I doubt I could be of any help."

Drew said as she followed Pharos.

The boy _hmmed_ thoughtfully. "You think so?"

"I know so." Drew had given up counting on what floor she was. All she knew was that she was already so high up that if she were to look outside, she'd see clouds. _I'm exaggerating_ , _get a hold of yourself, Drew._

Last she counted, she was somewhere over the 20th floor.

Anytime a [Shadow] appeared to stop them on their tracks, Pharos was gone like a flash. He left an afterimage Drew was sure, but she didn't have time to process what was happening because all of their foes evaporated into the air after Pharos' afterimage appeared.

Even those monsters that appeared like they stood guard on the entrance for the floor above, Pharos swatted them like a fly.

There were times when they'd meet other beings as well. Like that little girl who wore a blue dress that emitted so much _wrongness_ , Drew's skin crawled whenever the girl spoke. She also appeared to be fighting those [Shadows]. Pharos would talk to them, chat for a little while before bidding goodbye and continuing their journey

It wasn't just that. How she didn't feel tired despite that climb was a mystery to her. It was as if time was at a standstill here. But then, to her, it was probably her mind playing tricks on her. There were no windows: just mindless corridors with doors that Pharos didn't bother checking in and the occasional stairs that they climbed up. Everything was just so _quiet_ here too. It was unnerving.

At some point, Pharos stopped in front of a door.

It was almost ordinary: a simple sliding door that was just like any other doors that they passed. It didn't stand out. It didn't try to hide itself. It tried to become one with the surroundings.

But that's all it was. A facade. It wasn't like a lie, because a lie will always harm someone. A facade was something that made itself harder to see. It is what it is, just harder to see.

From the other side, through the gaps on the door, she could see something that can only be described as _ebony_ was seeping out. It was like something beyond the door was emitting darkness.

Pharos turned to Drew, "Beyond here lies..." the boy paused. "No, I'm being overdramatic." He cleared his throat, straightened up and said, "There's someone that I'd like you to meet."

* * *

"Kenta-kun? What brings you here?" Mayu's eyes grew concerned, "Is your grandmother okay?"

The boy nodded. She was safe at home. Drew and Shuhei, however...

* * *

The Buddhist and the Priestess met with the assembled might of Takamagahara. Well, just a percentage of that assembled might.

Descending on the clouds, garbed in ceremonial and warrior garments, the gods let their presence be known.

"Wah, so shiny..." A yokai said as it tried to shield its eyes. The moon was quite literally in front of them.

"Tsukuyomi-sama." The Priestess acknowledged, bowing with respect. It was not out of reverence, well maybe just a little, but it was mostly due to the act of respecting _gods_ being drilled into her since the beginning of her service.

As the moon, Tsukuyomi was elegant. He was cultured. He was sophisticated. He was the epitome of the [Ultimate Nobility].

The Buddhist didn't particularly hold him in high regard, so he was met with a curt nod.

With great ceremony, a few gods descended from the group.

One god blew wind and cleared the area of dust and dirt.

Another summoned a banner that showcased Takamagahara's might.

A _zabuton_ , or a cushion, was summoned by an attending god. But it was ornate. With shiny cloths and a patterned backrest.

Another god created clouds, that was only a few feet below the ground. It magically held said zabuton.

They were creating a receiving space for their leader.

High above, the moon god descended from the clouds. He wasn't rushing because the moon was never late. An existence that was always on time, regardless of circumstances. That calling him late was a fallacy because people just happened to arrive earlier than him.

When his feet touched the ground, everything was in place.

Without batting an eye, Tsukuyomi took the makeshift 'throne' that sat atop the clouds.

The Buddhist looked sour but didn't say anything.

The Priestess, as per training, acted like the perfect subject ( _retainer!_ ) for the god. Her head was kept low, staring at the ground because eye contact to an existence above humans was taboo.

The yokai... well, the simple-minded ones were in awe, but like how one visited the zoo and was amazed by the animals on display. The smarter ones looked at the god with curious concern.

The other gods assembled beside or behind him. It was a procession waiting to happen. Tsukuyomi rested an elbow on his knee, his head resting on his palm.

Onlookers started to whisper, those not from Takamagahara. They pointed. They gossiped. Above all else, they were in awe. Well, maybe not for the Buddhist and the Priestess.

When all was said, and done...  
When all actions led to their exhaustion and inevitable silence...  
When they noticed that above them all, it shone...

The Moon spoke.

"What is happening in the Imperial Homeland?"

* * *

With all the confusion happening all around, Kenta was led by his friend Mayu to a quiet area. Not that it was devoid of life, because that was impossible here, but it was a space that could offer them what Kenta wanted the most: privacy.

Seated on its lush seats, the two friends sat beside each other.

Kenta's eyes were glued on same spot. A shiny slab of the tiled floors. It had been a long day. _Couple of days_ , he corrected.

Monste- _yokai._ Persona. Drew. Him and Shuhei interacting again.

"I met Shuhei earlier."

Mayu was one of three people who knew of the depth of that sentence. Of the three, Mayu's reaction would be the most concerned. "Oh? How was it? Are you okay?"

His grandmother would probably click her tongue. Shuhei was one of the very few topics that could sour his beloved grandmother's mood.

The last person would, well...

"It was okay." The he took a deep breath, "it was fine."

"The last time you met each other was in middle school, right?" Because Kenta and Mayu had known each other for _years_. But they wouldn't necessarily classify their relationship as childhood friends because childhood friends meant they interacted a lot. And they didn't. Mayu and Kenta knew each other peripherally, that was probably the best description of their relationship before meeting Drew.

Drew...

"I... need to go." Meeting Mayu here was unexpected. But not an unwelcoming one. But now that he's seen things, the veil shielding the supernatural out of his sight, things were not just clearer in a literal sense. It made him realize what was important to him.

Like friends. Drew, Mayu, Suzu and Taichi. They were important.

"Is this about Drew?" Mayu looked at him with a serious look.

Odd. "Have you seen her?"

* * *

"What the fuck are these things?" Shuhei watched as the literal ball of light, this fairy, obliterate the [Shadow] foe.

The fairy was unable to talk to him which made asking questions pointless. It wasn't a matter of sound because he can hear sounds coming out from the fairy's mouth. Didn't matter if it was within earshot or not because even if the fairy shouted at the top of its lungs right up his ear, he still heard the sound just as loud as if the fairy was a few feet away.

It wasn't a language issue too, because the sound the fairy made wasn't garbled, muffled, distorted or obstructed. There was sound. But it was the same sound even if the lips of the fairy flapped into different shapes that mimicked words. He could try to decipher the words through lip reading but that proved futile too.

It was as if the fairy was speaking on an entirely different frequency unrecognizable to the human ear.

_Wait, wasn't that girl able to understand it?_

Shuhei continued following the fairy. It was a plain corridor. With white walls and tiled floors. What you'd expect on a building such as this, but something was off. Definitely.

He may not be smart, but he knew on a basic, logical level that a building should only appear to be as big as it was outside. Unless speaking about underground floors, that is.

Optical illusions can do so much, but he'd been walking for _kilometers_. His phone was dead and there was nothing in his power to know where he was, but he'd know for sure that by now the area inside the building was skewered. Some floors were too small, and some floors felt like they exceeded the area of the building from outside.

* #%&^&*

There was another [Shadow] thing again. Just like the fairy. the [Shadow] thing made sounds that the human ear was unable to recognize.

"Bufu."

At least he heard the fairy whenever it attacked. Ice attacks that imprisoned foes in a block of ice were called 'bufu'. Fire was called 'agi'. Wind was called 'garu'. And electricity was called 'zio'. There was that time when a shadow almost got to him, which ended with a graze on his arm, but the fairy quickly mended it with a 'dia'.

When they reached a floor that was different from the others, the fairy started to get anxious.

"Where to?" He interpreted that anxiousness that they were probably near their destination. He had a younger sibling who acted the same way whenever his favorite Sentai show was about to air on weekends.

If only Kenta was near. Not that he was worried because Shuhei knew Kenta would find his way back. Or at least out. Kenta was strong-willed after all.

The fairy led him through a door.

* * *

"I totally saw her enter the building earlier."

Mayu led the way, with Kenta more than happy to follow her. "Is there any way to know where she might have gone?"

"What are the two of you doing here, anyway?"

Kenta wanted to shrug but found himself too worried about Shuhei and Drew's absence. "This and that."

Mayu looked into his eyes. Her eyes, ever so piercing, like a feline would to her prey, made him stop in his tracks. Not that Mayu was the hostile type, especially to her friends, but Mayu had a strong personality. Like a concealed blade wrapped in silk. The cool, icy type. "Follow me."

She led him to the reception area, which was quite frankly the most normal and rational action he should've taken. They asked the receptionist if they saw someone enter the building, with Kenta describing how Drew looked and what she wore. Kenta actually expected the receptionist to not know what he was talking about.

Except someone else saw her. "Right, I passed by this girl who meets your description!" It came from a woman in white clothes who was a few feet away from the receptionist. With fixed hair pinned in a tight bun, with an unmistakable headpiece, and a confident stride, she looked like your quintessential worker of the establishment.

"She was very pretty so it was unmistakable." The woman said when Kenta had to make sure.

Kenta and Mayu shared a look. _Definitely Drew_. It was no exaggeration that Drew, in her months she's been here, managed to create a sleuth of stan twitter accounts. Her presence and beauty was _that_ potent.

"Do you think you could lead us there?" Kenta asked.

The woman waved a hand, "Can't, my shift's over but you can just go. It's not yet 9PM." She pointed at the nearby elevator and instructed them to go to the fourth floor.

* * *

When Shuhei opened the door, he found the girl from earlier.

"Ah, it's you!" He found Drew standing in front of-

"Ah! It's the pervert!" Drew looked at the boy with disdain in her eyes.

"Drew-san?" It came from a new girl.

"Mayu?"

A male entered the room. "Hey, Mayu, you seen Drew yet? The doctor said that it's the fourth room from _-ehhh?"_

"Kenta-kun?" Drew was surprised.

* * *

"How's your mother?"

"She isn't sick, Kenta. She had a baby."

"You're an _onee-chan_ now?"

"As a matter of fact, I am."

Fortunately, no elevator music was present to make the moment cheesy.

It was also one of the few moments today where Kenta felt normal.

_Ding!_

Kenta and Mayu faced forward. With Mayu taking the lead.

Kenta's eyes settled on a yokai from afar. Or was it an apparition? Whatever it was, it made him hesitate a little. Good thing it was focused on something else.

"Kenta?"

"Coming!"

Mayu entered the room first. Kenta ran after her. The yokai he was looking at moved and still hasn't noticed them. "Hey, Mayu, you seen Drew yet? The doctor said that it's the fourth room from _-ehhh?"_

On the door's nameplate:

Minato Arisato


	6. Chapter 6

Tense silence.

"What are you guys doing here?" Drew asked.

"Looking for you, apparently." Mayu crossed her arms. She used her elbow to nudge their male friend. "Kenta here needs to see you."

"Mayu-chan?"

Mayu nodded to Shuhei. "Hello, Shuhei. How are you?"

_Bless Mayu for diverting Shuhei's attention._ Kenta's eyes zoned in on Drew. "I got worried."

"As you can see, I am fine." Drew smiled. "You need to go home."

" _We_ need to go home." He corrected.

"Drew needs to help us first." Pharos chimed in.

But the world suddenly cracked.

* * *

Kenta opened his eyes.

Surroundings? No longer in the same sterile hospital room.

_Huh? Sterile hospital room…? What am I talking about?_

"Hey!" A voice called from behind.

"Kenta, wait!" Footsteps. Hurried ones. "G'morning." Shuhei greeted. He was still his blond self, hair pulled back by a headband. He had the same striking features that made him look like a delinquent. ( _Wait, Shuhei is a delinquent_ _?_ ) He had his schoolbag slung over the shoulder and he wore their school uniform properly. Err… semi-properly.

"Er… you should zipper up your blazer, Shuhei." Kenta found himself saying.

Morning…( _?_ ) They were walking on the way to school…( _?_ )

The school entrance… _has it been this spacious and well-kept_?

"Ah, yeah. My bad!" Shuhei quickly zipped up his blazer and adjusted the bowtie-like ribbon on his neck. " _Mou~_ I'll just not wear my uniform properly today." Removing his ribbon bowtie, Shuhei made a disgruntled sound, "We've been going to school since our freshman year, but I can't say I've gotten used to this _onee_ ribbon."

Kenta tilted his head.

"Not in proper uniform again Shuhei? Why am I not surprised?" A new voice came as they entered the school premises. The voice was female, icy and utterly sarcastic. It sounded endearing though.

"You know it!" Shuhei raised a thumb as they entered the school premises.

"I'm from the disciplinary committee, Shuhei." Mayu crossed her arms. "You know I can't let you enter looking like that."

Shuhei groaned. "So _early_ in the morning!"

" _Precisely_!" Mayu countered with equal annoyance.

"Guys! Guys!" Kenta wanted to butt in, but the fiery Shuhei and the icy Mayu have entered their cat-and-dog zone.

"What the hell is going on here?"A fourth voice came over to them. Kenta realized that they had drawn in quite a crowd – _Mayu and Kenta_ had drawn in quite a crowd.

"Oh! _Kaichou_!" Mayu said, surprised.

A teen with slicked-back hair came into view. "I have a meeting with the student council president later, Mayu, what is going on?"

* * *

Drew opened her eyes.

_This is… Camp?_ Camp Half-Blood.

She was in her bed. The same one by the window that she got after using her Charmspeak to the girl who used to sleep here.

"Oh, Drew! You're awake." It came from one of her followers – Belle? A brunette with a love for winged eyeliners.

"Morning." Still disoriented, she blurted out a rather affectionate greeting.

"My-my, Drew… didn't think you had it in you." Another voice came. From Piper's faction of followers: Amy or Amanda, or something.

Drew chose to ignore the jab and proceeded to sit on her bed.

"What day is it?" Her head was pounding, but not like a headache, and definitely not like she was at that time of the month. It was like-

"Don't you remember? Today's Capture the Flag, remember?"

She ignored that info, head throbbing and all, because she had the sneaking suspicion that something wasn't right.

* * *

After a long-winded verbal thrashing from the head of the Disciplinary Committee, in front of the student body no less, the bell rang.

Kenta let out a sigh of relief when he finally got to sit down on his seat.

"I know you both go through this almost every day at this point," Mayu fixed her hair in a loose ponytail, "But I don't understand why he included _me_ in his tirade."

"That's part of the youthful aura of high school."

"I don't want to be part of it."

Mayu and Shuhei sat near Kenta. Shuhei to his front, and Mayu beside Shuhei. They sat by the windows, which had an overlooking view of the sports complex outside.

"Woah~ Looking at that never gets old…" Kenta said to himself.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Shuhei turned his head to look at his friend.

Mayu giggled. "You're such a jock, Kenta."

Kenta couldn't help himself from grinning. "Well everything here is state-of-the-art, especially the sports facilities. For heaven's sake, we have an _indoor_ pool. That's some next level-shit."

Shuhei laughed heartily, earning a few disapproving looks from his classmates, but not like he cared.

Mayu tilted her head, "Now that you mention it, our last school was… _are~?_ "

Something nudged at the back of Kenta's mind.

* * *

Breakfast at the Dining Pavilion was always an annoying affair, stereotypes all around: Apollo's kids were doing Apollo things and were hyper already, Hermes' kids were all over the place trying to be funny with their pranks, and Dionysus' kids were already drunk (or high) from their Kool Aid.

Stereotypes all around. Drew wanted to laugh, but who was she kidding: she was surrounded by vapid, high-maintenance, backstabby, whiny ass bitches that she called her followers.

Too negative, that is wrong. They're nice people.

From the side, a fellow sibling made a big deal when she broke a nail she was filing.

_But they make it very hard to like them_.

Chiron then made an announcement that the Capture the Flag activity later will proceed as planned: sometime after lunch, and that they are mostly free to do as they pleased for their prep time.

At the end of the morning announcement: the campers were abuzz.

"So, like, what do we do later?" Carrie, one of the people on her side of the Cabin asked. In her thick valleyspeak accent, Carrie was all that you'd expect from her blonde, blue-eyed exterior.

Drew didn't want this aura of hate surrounding her, especially with the headache. Besides, Carrie may be ditzy but she likes taking care of the new Aphrodite campers. She's got that mother hen vibe once you get past her airheadedness.

"Well, I know Piper over there's gonna want us to participate but can we not?" Another girl, Delilah – Dely for short – said, checking through the mirror of her pressed powder if her make-up is still on point.

"Dely, you look fine." She said, which earned gasps from the people around her.

"What?" She met their gazes.

"Are you complimenting me?" Dely asked, snapping her pressed powder shut.

"It's the truth, why would I lie?"

"Today's a weird day." Carrie summarized.

But Drew ignored it. The headache was still there.

* * *

The assembled gods were looking at the [Anomaly]. "Definitely supernatural in origin." One god summarized after looking at it.

They were at the edge of the phenomenon. A group of volunteer gods, armed to the teeth decided to enter but was immediately repelled by it – no, that was wrong: when they entered the phenomenon, they also left the phenomenon. Like the entrance was both the exit.

"Well, at least it's not harmful." The Buddhist said as he finally decided to check the [Anomaly]. "We just can't enter it."

* * *

Drew entered the Medical Bay, hoping that a demigod of Asclepius could help her.

"My head is just…" Drew started but recognized someone on one of the beds.

"I… I know him."

Dark hair, pale complexion. His normally unexpressive face was relaxed; giving him so much _expression_ if that made sense. His sleeping face made him look… like a teenager.

"Minato-kun." Drew recognized in a breathy voice.

Then the headache was gone: and all the memories flooded into her.

The Persona, the darkness, her friends. Her friends!

What happened to her friends?

This was a dream, right? Can't be real. Can never be real.

Last thing she knew she was in Japan.

" **Mom!** " Her voice powered with Charmspeak, with all the [Authority] and power she could pour into her voice, she asked for help.

_Braaaagggg!_

A loud bang.

The campers outside would have noticed it. Chiron and Mr. D, probably Hestia too, would notice that something was very wrong here. But this was a dream. They were _not_ real.

Her mother did not appear. Instead the entire world became black. As if swallowed by darkness. Again swallowed by darkness.

She ran toward Minato, realizing that she was tasked by the Persona Pharos with something important.

"Minato!" But as she ran closer to the boy, the farther she got away from him. It was as if she was running but was rooted on the same spot.

" **Minato, wake-up**!"

But her Charmspeak was left unheard because before she could finish her sentence, Minato got swallowed by the darkness.

* * *

It was already time for lunch. The morning classes were too much: math followed by history.

Kenta found his math-loving professor's afro cool, but his history teacher, with a samurai helmet of all things, was the epitome of epic meme-ness.

"Goddamnit, Kenta, you're so slow! I'm leaving you behind." A hungry Shuhei is an angry Shuhei. With much vigor, as someone who has yet to consume his daily nutrition, Shuhei slid the door open, stepped out and hastily slid the door closed.

_Bang_.

Typical of Shuhei though. "I don't understand how you two are friends." Mayu said as she grabbed a slice of sandwich from her _bento_ box. "I also don't understand how _I'm_ friends with you both."

Mayu looked like something didn't sit well with her, "Now that you mention it, we three rarely interacted during middle school."

"Shuhei was a _yankee_ too, in middle school."

Mayu shook her head, getting out of her funk, "It was a miracle that he got in such a prestigious school like this."

"Hey, that's our friend there."

Mayu tilted her head, "Good point, but… I understand you're on an athletic scholarship, and I'm here because of a recommendation, but Shuhei…" Mayu sighed. "Let's just drop it. My head's starting to hurt."

"Want me to ask the school nurse for a remedy for that? It's a little far from the lunch lady but it's not too much of a hassle for me."

Mayu shook her head, "And drink his weird concoctions? No way. No way am I letting that quack doctor help me."

Kenta laughed, "Well, I'm off to lunch." He then stood up from his seat, checked if his phone and his wallet are in his pockets, and made his way to the door's entrance.

Just as when he slid classroom door open-

" _Ooughff~"_

It was a girl. A girl ran over him.

With straight black hair, fair skin and a slender-like body, you'd think he'd be unaffected.

Kenta fell onto his butt, knocking an unoccupied desk.

Kenta's first thought was, who the hell was running at top speed just to enter class?

His second thought was:

"Drew?"


	7. Chapter 7

For a moment, something inside the [Anomaly] shifted. Like the fluttering of a butterfly's wings. It was fleeting. But not unnoticeable.

The gods assembled felt the rumblings of a familiar yet foreign power. The familiarity was like when one forgets what to say, and it's just at the tip of one's tongue. They _knew_ it, but at the same time, they didn't.

The [Anomaly], or whoever was in control, didn't do a very good job of being discreet.

Despite that detail, progress was difficult because the gods were at an impasse with what to do next. The Buddhist's actions were fruitless too. The Priestess was already in the background, her years of training as an attendant showing.

"If only…" The Buddhist began, punching his arm through the anomaly, "If only we had a means of breaking this barrier."

* * *

Kenta checked to see if Drew was okay.

The girl in question, who fell face-first into the ground, groaned before sitting up right. _"Fuck!"_

Of course, only Drew (in Kenta's circle of friends) could make cursing in English look cool and not… _Engrish_ and borderline racist. "Drew, are you okay?"

She wasn't wearing her school uniform, opting for an orange shirt that had a print on it.

"I'm okay, Ke- _Kenta?_ " She looked at him, and then around. "Where are we?"

"At school. What are you doing? And what are you wearing?" Kenta extended a hand and helped her up. She noticed that she was wearing jeans and a deep orange shirt that had a print on it. "Camp Half-Blood." He whispered, reading the logo on her shirt.

Earning a vicious glare from Drew. Crossing her arms, "My eyes are up here, pervert."

At least Kenta had the capability to blush. "Sorry about that."

_Ahem._

Both looked to the side. Mayu, in her prim and proper uniform, was standing between them. "Who's your friend Kenta?"

"Mayu?" Odd, why doesn't she recognize Drew?

Just earlier, they were all hanging out earlier.

Drew smiled at them both before standing upright, massaging the ball on her back while going up. "Sorry about that…" She looked apologetic. "Anyway, gotta go!"

She turned around and left the room…

…only to reappear a second later by the door frame.

* * *

Drew followed Kenta as he guided her through the school corridors.

"You sure you don't recognize where we are?"

His stride was wider than hers, by being half a foot taller than her, so she had to run a little to catch up to him. "Of course, Kenta, this isn't our school."

"What're you talking about?" Kenta turned to her.

Drew tilted her head and looked at the boy. Tanned skin from being an outdoor athlete, tall and athletic. It clashed with his posh-looking, upper-crust school uniform.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

There was a slight haze in the light of his eyes too, like he was looking at things through a filter.

Her question was met with a raised brow. "Please, explain."

Drew looked around. There were students, but she didn't know any of them. They also appear to not notice her despite being dressed inappropriately for school. Once, she wore a somewhat printed leggings underneath her school uniform (whose patterns wouldn't be discernible unless you looked at the fabric straight on) and the moment she stepped into the school, she received weird stares from basically everyone. It was odd that no one was giving her any looks with her denim skirt, camp shirt and sandals.

Grabbing his arm, she pulled him into the nearest room she could find.

She slid the door open and dragged him in. A classroom for Home-Ec. There was a guy there too, with blonde hair and non-Japanese features, but he was keeping to himself as he fussed over a mannequin.

" **Hey, we're gonna talk here for a bit.** "

The non-Japanese guy, without looking at them, raised a thumb.

Drew then pulled Kenta's arm towards the farthest point of the room from the non-Japanese person.

"Tell me, Kenta," Her voice was low, hushed, almost a whisper, "Didn't school just end a while ago?"

"Huh?"

Drew sighed, "I'm going at this wrong." She looked him in the eye and place a hand over his shoulder. "After school, we ate out with everyone and…"

* * *

There it was again( _?_ ), the sharp sensation. It was different from a headache because it didn't hurt physically. It was more like an annoying feeling, like the scent of nostalgia. Or the bittersweetness of a memory made fresh through recollection.

"After school, we ate out with everyone and-"

Yes. Kenta recalled that. And hurriedly wanting to go home. But… why?

* * *

Drew didn't want to push it, but she needed to locate Arisato-san. There was a nagging suspicion that all of this would end if she were able to wake him up.

Kenta, someone who should be outside the sphere of the Supernatural, was unwittingly being dragged into this mess.

But what choice does she have?

Not many allies in… whatever pseudo-school this place was. Besides, Kenta felt human here. Like he was _real_.

* * *

Kenta was finding it hard to breathe again but, "-then the playground."

That's right. Yokai. The playground. And then the running. Shadows. Then Drew. Dagger in hand, ethereally beautiful. Delicate yet sharp. Her smile: the survivor's smile.

"Drew…" He exhaled.

He'd closed his eyes because it was all coming back to him.

He'd chased after her. Because whatever it was that was needed of her, she had no obligation to follow through. She was self-absorbed but not conceited. It was out of necessity. She placed focus on herself because what can you do when danger lurked at almost every corner?

She was proud, and rash, and sometimes insensitive, but she was just being herself.

The flower at the summit.

That was Drew if someone were to ask him to describe her. If anything, that was what made Drew into Drew.

And that was what endeared her to him.

He opened his eyes.

* * *

"What's going on?" Kenta's eyes were back to normal.

Drew shook her head, "I don't know but we need to get to Arisato-san."

"Minato-kun?"

She nodded. "I can't explain in detail, but the key to ending all this," she twirled her finger in a circular motion, "lies with Arisato-san."

"I doubt he's here though." Kenta looked at her, crossing his arms.

She shrugged, "Doesn't hurt to try, we could try asking aro-"

" _Ano_ …"

The two eyes turned to their intruder: the non-Japanese student.

* * *

Magic seemed to have little effect. Rituals were rendered obsolete. Brute force left them merely exhausted.

The Moon looked at the work of Takamagahara. Not that he could blame the others, because this was an [Anomaly] – an existence that should be an impossibility.

With an exhale, the Moon wanted to interject because the gods, the Buddhist and even the yokai were starting to do random things.

_Brrrrrrrrrrr~_

The rumblings of a vehicle's engine caught everyone's attention.

The Moon turned towards its direction and found three people riding a motorcycle (with a sidecar) nearing them. They wore helmets that hid their faces, but just on presence alone, they were not normal.

The Mist was so thick that most of the Mundane would've been avoiding this place like the plague.

The motorcycle slowed down when they neared the assembled group and stopped when they were a few feet from the god Tsukuyomi.

"Is that… a baboon?" the Priestess asked, tilting her head. On the sidecar, seated on the lap of one of the people in the sidecar, was indeed a monkey.

Having caught the attention of everyone, they watched as the driver parked his bike at the edge of the street and descended from his ride.

The two who were in the passenger seat both stood up and stepped down from the sidecar.

With great ceremony, the three took their time removing their helmets.

It amused the god of the Moon knowing that these three had everyone's attention, so he kept his silence. No need to speak when someone would be asking the obvious questions later.

The Buddhist appeared to have recognized them because he cursed under his breath.

"The House of Life's here…"

* * *

The blonde non-Japanese student led the way.

"Iz theez your firzt time 'ere?"

He spoke Japanese, but it was with a heavy accent.

Kenta followed the boy, right behind Drew. The boy didn't introduce himself, but he did say that he knew Minato-san.

"Yes." Drew answered. "Are you sure you know where Minato-san is?"

" _Oui_!" he turned around, his bowl-cut hair swishing with movement. "Minato-sama is just around the corner."

"You speak French?" Drew asked amazed.

* * *

For someone who was supposed to be in the background, this NPC stood out too much.

"You speak French?" As a daughter of Aphrodite, she has a certain degree of affinity for the language – something to do with French being the language of love.

" _Of course, miss._ "

She understood it, thanks to her affinity for it. Also, " _Interesting._ _And how are you related to Arisato-san_?"

The boy didn't skip a beat. " _He's my most precious person. In Japan, of course."_

She recognized the affectionate tone. It was nuanced, and too special to be given a word, because to merely refer to it as 'affection' just wouldn't do it justice. Whatever Minato and this boy experienced together, it was something words couldn't describe in detail.

 _Too real to be considered a fake_. This person was real. Too realized to be some phantom. This wasn't some weird, alternate reality, fever dream because this person behaved like he was alive.

"What are you?"

The boy paused, almost for half a second – her demi-god training saw that. A moment of doubt.

" _A friend?_ "

They stopped on the school's entrance, to where the lunch lady was located. The boy turned around.

 _Actually_ …

* * *

Everyone was looking at them.

Kenta wanted to take a step back.

All the people around, who were supposed to have been people in the background, who were supposed to have been just another face in the crowd, looked at him.

But their stares weren't hateful. Not in any way.

To be honest, to Kenta it was quite the opposite.

"Minato-sama… iz zomeone trapped in ze pazt."

"Huh?"

For a moment the boy shifted. His non-Japanese body and frame shifting into something shiny. _Rainbow?_ _Silver?_ But it reverted.

* * *

The three House of Life magicians were also stumped.

"Any idea what's going on, Zia?" Said a caramel-haired teenage girl with a thick British accent.

"If I did then we wouldn't be having this conversation with _demons_ , Sadie." Zia was this dark-skinned beauty that had jet-black straight hair.

The other one, the third magician, was a Japanese male currently talking to a baboon. Interestingly enough, the monkey wore a Laker's jersey.

The Buddhist, who is a passable English conversationalist, leaned a little to the Priestess and whispered, "Unfortunately that guy's a-"

"I can hear you, you know." The sole male Magician said, giving the baboon a high-five.

"Good. You should just return to Shibuya."

The Priestess could only shake her head. She knew that there was some rivalry between the Buddhist faction and the House of Life – especially since the House of Life were encroaching on the Buddhist faction's land.

Well, the Shinto faction tend to be less pronounced as them, but that doesn't mean she holds the House of Life in any high regard. Tensions between all three factions present were high, especially since the House of Life was currently undergoing reforms (read: they have a new Chief Lector). In fact, the only thing keeping their factions in check was their pact of non-interference.

"Have you tried asking Isis about what's going on?" Zia's voice cut through the noise.

Tsukuyomi, who kept to himself, turned to the girl. With great ceremony, he stood up from his cloud-seat and walked towards the Sadie girl.

Zia stood defensively between them, but the god only stared at Sadie. Later, when Zia would ask if Sadie was okay, she'd describe the gaze of the god as unnerving, like he was peering into her soul, with Isis' presence enveloping her protectively. Having satisfied his curiosity, he brought out a fan from his sleeve. "My, my, a medium." His English was impeccable.

"A what?" Sadie's stance was defensive, a hand going to her back pocket. _A weapon?_

"Host." Zia said, also keeping her guard up.

"I don't think you should be antagonizing Isis' host." The Magician said, also in English, standing between them.

"Who said I was antagonizing?" The Moon god unfurled his fan and turned around, walking back to his seat. His subordinates, though unassuming, were also on-guard. Not that Tsukuyomi was a god that couldn't defend himself, but he was their leader. Any slight on him is a slight to them.

Sitting back on his cloud, Tsukuyomi asked. "Well, can the [Goddess of Magic] enlighten us?"

* * *

" _Tell me, how does a hero's tale end?_ " The question was asked to Drew. " _Can you tell me what happens to a hero at the end of his journey?_ "

The non-Japanese boy turned to Kenta and repeated his question in his accented Japanese.

"They live happily ever after, right? They _are_ heroes after all." Kenta's reply was innocent as it was hopeful. A naiveté born from _shonen_ manga and _sentai_ shows.

The non-Japanese boy nodded, smiled too. A sincere smile. "Quite so, a hero cannot be called a hero if they aren't victorious after all."

He turned to Drew. "What do you think?"

Drew didn't want to answer because she knew all too well.

Heroes, whether born one or through happenstance, are those who die for their beliefs.

" _Quite a morose line of thought there, but I don't disagree with you_."

Drew realized that she was thinking out loud. At this point, Drew has gotten desensitized about it.

When a demi-god reaches a certain point in his life where he outgrows the Camp, he leaves. When he outgrows the need of security, outgrows the Camp's activities, or becomes disillusioned by the gods, he leaves the nest. It varies from demi-god to demi-god, but it's something most of the older kids go through.

Chiron has seen to it that they have been prepared for the [World], so while leaving was a subdued affair, it was also the culmination of their time in Camp. But…

When was the last time Drew's heard from the older kids? What happened to Luke Castellan's generation? Or the generation before them? All she's ever heard were...

" _Heroes are those who's tragedies are remembered until time immemorial_."

The non-Japanese boy tilted his head but chose to keep quiet.

"Let us go."

And just like that, the crowd became the crowd again, and the unsettling but not hateful aura was gone.

* * *

"She says it feels familiar." Sadie stood at the precipice of the Anomaly. A not-barrier that kept everything outside while keeping them safe.

"We can infer that whatever or whoever is controlling the field is not antagonistic since we aren't getting hurt if we try to enter it." Zia said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"What about those already inside?"

Zia tilted her head, "Well, this is just my guess, but I think they're still fine."

"We believe that too," the Buddhist said, crossing his arms. He realized his tone and looked apologetic. He turned to the Magician, "Well, at least we are all equally confused."

_jingle~_

"Hey, do you hear that?"

It was the Priestess who heard it first. "Music? I hear music."

"…a _festival_? Can't be." The Buddhist said. But there was something that can be described as festival music nearing them. He turned to the Yokai.

They were already bowing.

Only a few beings could make Yokai bow.

"Nurahiyon."

* * *

The boy led them to the infirmary. Drew felt uneasy. It may have been just her nerves, but she knew something was about to happen.

"Minato's inside." The non-Japanese boy said as he slid the door open.

Inside the room, however, was total black.

The non-Japanese boy _hissed_. "Minato!"

A tendril of _blackness_ shot out from the room and hit the non-Japanese boy square on the chest.

Drew's reflexes weren't fast enough and that they too got pushed by the strength of the black tendril.

When she came to, they were outside.

 _The hospital?_ No it was the same school. They were in the corridor.

"Urgh… Is everyone okay?"

Kenta fell on the ground. The non-Japanese boy…

"You! Get out!"

The few students who bore witness to the scene fled in fear. But a few remained, with their phones capturing the moment. The teachers, where are the teachers? Well this isn't a real school anyway.

"I said, get out!"

There was a flash, reality cracking, but the boy was still a boy. "Minato-sama, is not a plaything!" From his pocket, he brought a fan.

A wave from his fan produced a wind so strong that it peeled the wall apart.

Drew kept her body low, fearing that the strong gusts might pull her up. She felt something fall on her, and realized that Kenta's draped an arm around her, keeping her close.

* * *

"It would appear my help is needed." Nurahiyon said after emerging from his palanquin.

The Moon god looked at him before sighing, "I guess it cannot be helped." He stood up and clapped his hand once. "Everyone: prepare! We are entering the [Anomaly]."

" _Wait, I don't get it. What's that bald guy gonna do_?" Sadie said in English.

Zia looked at Sadie before muttering a translation spell. A glowing hieroglyph appeared on thin-air. "This should work."

"I'm dumb, aren't I?" Sadie tried to pass it with a laugh, "Anyway, what's this about Nurahiyon? What can he do that three factions could not?"

The Japanese Magician simplified with, "It's because of his legend."

"Huh?"

The Buddhist moved towards them. "The supernatural aren't as static as most would believe them to be." The translation spell apparently worked because while they were able to understand what they were saying, the way their mouth moved was different from what their ears were hearing.

"As much as I cannot stand this guy, he's right. Modern interpretations of the Supernatural can affect their abilities. For a culture that takes folklore and gives them interpretations through different mediums, their legends increase the more those interpretations are accepted." The Magician said.

"Which is why Sun Wukong, the [Monkey King], can shoot beams of light now."

Zia turned to Nurahiyon, who retreated to his palanquin. "I don't understand. Is his legend really that powerful?"

"Not really. Individually, well…" the Magician said, looking at the being in question.

"What are those legends, then? I'm curious." Said Sadie.

Zia said, "You sound like your brother."

"Hey! I take offense to that!"

Sadie still looked hopefully at the two Japanese people.

"The first: 'the Nurahiyon would enter people's homes in the evening when the people there are busy and then drink tea and smoke like it's their own home.' The second: 'While night is still approaching, the Nurarihyon comes to visit as the chief monster.'"

"I guess the translation spell isn't doing it's job properly. I don't get it." Sadie's head deflated.

Zia shook her head, "No, it's simple actually. Nurahiyon has the power to infiltrate any secure area, has the power to immediately have an affinity for the area he's entering, and his powers get boosted when it's nighttime."

"The ultimate antithesis to the [Anomaly]'s structure."

After a few minutes, the assembled procession of Tsukuyomi and Nurahiyon were ready. The instrumental music started and the carriers of Nurahiyon's palanquin lifted it up.

With the buzz of the festive music, Sadie felt a dizzying sensation. Especially when they entered the Anomaly. But unlike earlier, where entering was like exiting, this time…

There was a sensation of passing through a membrane. Of breaking into something. It was getting hard to see. _Too much Mist!_

She felt something being placed on her head. "Khufu?" She grabbed what he was placing: it was a pair of rider goggles.

With it on, sight felt bearable. She was still unable to see anything, but unlike earlier, she was it didn't feel bad.

When they broke free from all that Mist… they were… still inside the city.

But…

Sadie could see it was night time, the Moon glowing ever so brightly. But it was bigger. And it's hue was eerie.

From the distance: explosions? Are those explosions?

* * *

They entered a battlefield. The buildings were in disarray, fires raged throughout the land, and in every area, there was fighting happening.

The Yokai stopped their procession when everyone's entered.

From as far as the eye can see, battle raged on.

"Is that…?" Figures, creatures, other yokai, demons, _angels_ and monsters fought what appeared to be shadow-like creatures.

Sadie felt Khufu place his hands over Sadie's eyes through the goggles. He screeched something, feeling Magic coursing from his hands and into the goggles before letting go.

"Khufu? What did you do?"

Zia too was being handled by the baboon. "I think… I think he's making us see."

"I can see just fine."

She shook her head, "That's not what I mean." She pointed at the sky, where a floating chariot pulled by two big cats broke formation of not-bird-like creatures. "I think that's a goddess." She pointed the charioteer of said chariot: a blonde beauty that hailed magic at the tip of her fingertips.

 _Freyja_. Isis whispered in Sadie's head. Khufu was probably giving them a blessing that let them see a god without evaporating: something about Zeus' legend with that one lady...

The most concerning thing above it all was the backdrop of the entire battlefield. A high tower, so high, it appeared to almost reached the Moon.

* * *

Mayu opened her eyes. One moment she was having her lunch peacefully inside the classroom when the earth suddenly rumbled. Then the floor she was standing on gave way and she fell.

"What happened?" Her body aching but not injured, she tried to sit up.

"You okay?" She turned and saw a teen wearing a strapped green jacket. He wore orange tinted glasses, and he looked at her with concern. "This the girl you're looking for, Īsan?"

 _Īsan_?

Yeah. She knows a guy with that name.

A guy with bandages on one of his eyes.

Yes. She definitely knows a guy like that. She met him in the… _hospital?_ That can't be right.

"Mayu-san! Are you okay?"

* * *

Shuhei just finished doing his business in the male's lavatory when the earth rattled. He felt the building collapse and when he came to…

Oh, it's that fairy.

"Dia!"

 _Fairy? Huh?_ He sat upright.

* * *

Drew dared to peek. Reality has broken down again. The veil of illusion that cloaked the area was gone.

They were now back in the hospital. But the hospital was now in ruins.

The non-Japanese student fought against the black blob-like entity that shrouded Minato's sleeping form.

"Bebe!"

A new voice came from behind.

Other students appeared: a boy with slicked-back hair, a girl with long hair wearing glasses, a brunet boy wearing glasses, a tanned girl with short hair, two boys wearing a jogging outfit (one in blue, the other in grey), and an obese boy with unkempt black hair. Leading them was an adult woman with short hair.

"Sensei!" Bebe, the non-Japanese boy called out. "That shadow's got Mianto-sama!"

A wave of his fan created strong gusts of wind. It made short work of the tendrils that threatened to hurt them. But it didn't harm the-

* * *

The assembled gods and yokai regrouped.

Sadie had, more than once, double checked if the wand that she had tucked on her back pocket was still there.

Zia was currently studying the many coffins that littered the battlefield. "It's probably impenetrable." Earlier they saw one of the gods hurl impressive lightning bolts that unfortunately landed on one. Didn't leave a scratch.

"Any idea what's inside?" the Magician asked.

"Best leave sleeping dragons alone." She said.

"Good point."

"Hello!"

All eyes turned to a newcomer.

A little girl with her hair braided into two buns. The red backpack she wore was unmistakable. An elementary student. "Are you here to help Minato-niichan?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Is no one thinking how sketchy it is that a little girl is in the middle of this battlefield?" The Buddhist asked.

"Quite." Agreed the Magician.

The little girl turned to them, met them eye to eye, and smiled. "I'm here because… I need to be."

Sadie took a moment to realize what it was in that smile. Because for a child, that smile was just so… sad. But they needed to push through and get to the bottom of this. "Now what?" The assemble group conducted a meeting. The host of the [Goddess of Magic] knew how to get to the point.

Nurahiyon, who appeared to be a short man using a cane to keep himself upright, twitched slightly like an old person. Like standing took effort for him. "I am merely here to check up on Minato-sama."

That name again. "Who?"

"Ah, yes… The rumored Exalted One." The Moon god summoned a fan. With a graceful yet exaggerated motion, he unfurled it and hid half of his face. "I didn't think he'd be in the middle of all this." With a wave of his fan, his entire being started to glow. True to the heavenly body he represented. It was as if he were casting-

Sadie, didn't take heed to what the god was doing, turned to Zia and mouthed 'Exalted One?' which the other female shrugged.

"Don't you suppose he could be the cause of all this?" The Buddhist said.

That earned a reproachful look from the more simplier Yokai, but it was the Priestess that spoke on their behalf. "While we cannot be certain until we ask him ourselves, I do believe that he has proven himself to be rather…" she searched for the proper word, "pacifistic."

The Buddhist looked pensive, "Well, I suppose you're right. I've met him a few times and he doesn't seem to be the type to cause trouble."

He turned around and saw that barrier the Moon god placed on the field. It was a simple field that let them be untouched – the Moon's sacredness made everything within it repel hostile intent. Which translated to being safe from the battle outside. "Now that I think about it. It was more like trouble found him." He turned to the Priestess, "How do you know him?"

The Priestess tilted her head, "I found him."

There was a lull in the conversation until the lone kid spoke up.

"Minato-niichan is over there!" The kid pointed at something afar.

"Of course, he'll be at the most obvious and most dangerous-looking building." Sadie said to herself.

"How do you know Minato-sama?" Asked one of the nearby Yokai. They weren't asking why she knew that Minato was there, but these were Yokai, human logic left them – just as much as Yokai-logic was vastly different from a human.

The girl smiled. Making sure that her _randoseru_ , her school bag, was secure, that smile turned into a grin. Toothy and full of innocence, "He's… he's my most special nii-chan."

A few Yokai nodded, as if they understood.

* * *

The wind was howling. And due to the air pressure, it was also getting harder to breathe.

Drew felt Kenta's arm wrapped around her waist, his torso pressing her down, keeping her rooted on the ground.

 _Not good._ They were exposed like this. That non-Japanese boy named Bebe had some wind-based powers, but that power proved to be indiscriminately causing damage to anything nearby.

She should-

 _Eek!_ She felt a hand grab her ankle. And she immediately looked down. A boy of similar age was looking at her. He was mouthing something: "One moment!"

And then she was pulled.

Farther away from the battle happening between the black blob and the boy Bebe.

She took her chances on this guy pulling her leg over the powerlessness of being under the onslaught of such strong winds. She wrapped her arms around Kenta and let him get dragged too.

When on a safe distance from the battle. She turned to their rescuers.

"Sensei! Bebe needs our help." A girl wearing glasses summarized, adjusting it using a hand. With long hair, she fit a certain shy, nerdy girl archetype. But the student council band on her uniform signified that she was more than that.

"Don't call me sensei," Drew heard from the person. She had this no-nonsense air around her, but Drew knew better. High-strung-looking women like her tended to have a lot of emotional baggage. "Yes, but we need to get these people to safety first."

He sported an easy smile, that was the only thing that made him stand out, on top of his ridiculous school uniform. She didn't get to see his face because he was currently leading her away from the battle, but there was an air that she recognized from him. The leader-like senpai type, the type that stayed true to their principles to a fault.

How Drew was able to discern that was a mystery, but she liked to think as a daughter of [Beauty] there was some certain level of affinity she had in people, because self-confidence was a beautiful thing, and this boy was that. Self-confident, probably to a fault, but only because he was sure that he was the real deal and that he was capable.

"What's going on?" Kenta asked.

* * *

The procession continued. Something that was so out-of-place in the middle of this battlefield. But the Moon and the Nurahiyon employed such mysteries that damage felt foreign to them, like the procession was happening in an entirely different dimension.

A goddess from afar hurled down hail and sleet like it was nothing, reducing shadow-like creatures into nothing. An _angel_ summoned weaponized light that vaporized the foes on the spot. A demon used _darkness_ to cancel out the shadows – something that should have been inconceivable.

Zia wanted nothing more than to study them. Magicks and techniques lost through time were used in this battle. That if she would just stop what she was doing and just observe-

"Zia, c'mon."

That was the deal, that for Nurahiyon's power to be at its peak, everyone participating in the procession must be in it – body and mind.

That if those under him cast any doubt, the whole façade would fall apart.

Not that Zia participated in the festivities by having fun, but she participated to get from 'Point A' to 'Point B'. Any distraction would ruin this strange power Nurahiyon was able to employ.

_Do you have any idea what's going on?_

Despite rejecting the goddess that tried to use her body as a host, her affinity with Nephthys was undeniable. So much so that despite rejecting her, the connection was never truly severed.

 _Mourning._ The goddess spoke. _It feels like mourning_.

"I wish I could help Minato-niichan…"

The young elementary girl said solemnly.

Zia liked to think she was a good judge of character, and this kid, while suspicious, did not give her any bad signals. "You sound like he's important to you."

The young kid looked up, meeting her gaze, "Of course, he and I were meant to be, you know!" She giggled. "But he's too old for me so I guess he's just gonna be my big brother."

 _Good_. Because if the kid was dead serious, then this teen named Minato agreeing to marry this kid was messed in the head. Because child grooming – a concept Carter taught to her.

"Uh," Zia shook her thoughts, "I don't think we've introduced ourselves. My name is Zia."

The girl nodded. "Zia, that's a cool name. My name is…

[Attis]

Zia didn't hear it properly, there was a voice that spoke directly into her mind. "I'm sorry, what?"

The girl tilted her head, "Just call me-"

* * *

 _The Exalted One is a title given to_ [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ]. Isis' voice came into Sadie's mind.

 _Huh? What was that? I didn't get what you said_.

[ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ] Isis repeated.

_Please use words that I can understand._

Isis was quiet for a moment before: _There is more nuance to this but the closest word your race could comprehend to what [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ] means is that… this Minato person… He's the Mes-_

There was a beat. Like something within Sadie stirred.

It was Isis. Or something within Isis. What she felt, Sadie felt too. What she saw, Isis saw too. So, when a foreign… _memory_ (?) flashed through Isis, Sadie saw it too.

They were running. Her hand grabbing someone else's. There were going up, as far as Sadie could tell. _Yes, going up a floor on their dorm._ The memory(?), she could remember that she was saying something, but what it was, Sadie couldn't recall.

Then she looked back. In the memory, she saw a black-haired youth. He was confused but also…

 _Huh_?

"Hey, I think I'm gonna go with gerberas, but which color should I get?"

They were in a flower shop.

Her and that black-haired boy. What surprised Sadie was, despite looking apathetic and uncaring, he busts out the most surprising reply:

"Pink's cute."

"You think so too? I love pink."

The memory's reply was amused. Then she remembered laughing. That underneath that aloof and nonchalant exterior, the guy is-

The scene shifted.

They were at the rooftop. That same boy. She was facing him.

"Sorry, I got mad at you. I don't like having to depend on other people. I wanted to be able to take care of it myself."

"But I ended up needing your help."

The memory, it felt like she smiled at him.

"I don't think I could say this to anyone else, [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ]: thanks for your help back then. I really appreciate it."

He nodded, listening to her but also not putting too much thought into it. The memory liked that about him.

"Anytime."

She felt herself smiling.

"Tryin' to play it cool, eh?"

But then again, she wouldn't have it any other way.

A tap on her shoulder broker her reverie. "Sadie? Is everything okay?"

Zia looked at her with concern in her eyes.

"Yes." Her voice was unsure, a hand massaging her temples. "What're we talking about, again?"

* * *

She introduced herself as Maiko, an elementary student. "Minato-niichan's future wife!" She declared matter-of-factly, puffing her chest and placing her hands on her hips.

A thought ran through her head, which made her deflate, "But then if I become his wife, then he'll no longer be my big brother…"

She shook her head. "Nah, don't want him as my husband. Like mom and dad, married people don't always end up together."

Zia merely nodded. "I guess."

Maiko turned to Zia, "What about you, Zia? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

It was a simple question. Really. It should have been a simple question, but why did it trouble Zia so much? "I… I want to be-"

It was something that she used to tell _him_ when she was little. Her modest roots just weren't the proper environment for fostering ambition. Her village placed more emphasis on humility and communal loyalty more than self-worth and personal success.

She, at once, wanted to become just like her mother: warm, inviting and adept at the hearth. Not that there was a problem with women and their personal aspirations for domesticity – because a simple life was always much better than a life of strife, but…

But then the accident happened, and her simple life was destroyed like the fire that burned down her village.

As such, when _he_ found her, Zia was nothing more than a husk of what she originally was. With her innocence taken from her, with her family beyond unrecognizable and the only thing she could call her home was in shambles, there was nothing more to life that she looked forward to.

With hollowed eyes, a thousand-yard stare and an existence that could only be described as 'not there despite being there', _he_ took pity on the girl and took her in.

 _He_ showed her magic. That there is still beauty in life. And that there was more to life than living in that bubble she called her village – the only world she knew back then. That while, her memories with her family was something precious to her, it should not drag her down and stop her from whatever it is that she wanted in life.

Slowly, the shine returned to her eyes. Her mornings were viewed with a day of possibilities. And she looked forward to her days with priests and scribes and lectors…

When she turned 10, with _him_ (despite his busy schedule) sharing a meal with her, she whispered to herself, with bright eyes and a hopeful plea, "I want to be just like you."

Someone who could have been so bright, _he_ was like the sun itself.

Zia smiled sadly at the kid, "I want to be-"

She stopped because the procession stopped.

* * *

" _Kaichou!_ " Mayu looked surprised. Īsan was here too, but…

Īsan… she knew a guy with that name. In fact, she just met a guy with that name today…? _Huh?_

 _Kaichou?_ Who is this person…?

There was a third guy too. But he was entirely new.

"Whe-where am I?" She was having lunch. Yes she was. But then the floor caved? Yes that happened too-

"C'mon, Mayu, we need to get you someplace safe." Īsan said, extending a hand for her to stand upright.

Yes. Safety. There was an earthquake earlier, and who know what could have happened with her schoolmates – wait, her schoolmates? All around, there were coffins everywhere. And a hospital? What was she doing inside a hospital?

It was getting harder to breath. Besides, does she know this _kaichou?_ Like what was his first name? What year was he in? If they were acquainted, then she should know something about him. Especially if he was a year older than her.

"Okay, Īsan, just give me a moment."

But the third guy, the guy in green jacket shook his head, "No can do missy. We're got monsters right around every corner. This whole place has turned into a shitshow, and the more time we spend exposed like this, the harder it is for us to get you out of this hellhole."

Mayu knew he was making sense, but this headache – wait, it doesn't hurt physically but…

"Aw shit, they're here." The crass guy in the green jacket cursed as he saw them from afar.

Mayu turned to see where he was looking but- _what is that?_

* * *

"Mazio!" A group of shadows evaporated into the air.

The fairy (probably the same one from earlier) tried to lead Shuhei to safety. But seeing as communication between them were difficult, progress was slow. They communicated – if you considered hand waving and pointing as valid sound communication.

"I don't know where you're leading me, but it's not like I have a choice, right?"

The fairy floated in a pace that was good for a human to catch up to by running, but the halls were a destroyed mess. There were coffins all around too. It was eerie. _I hope Kenta and the others are okay_.

Then he heard an explosion.

* * *

"Mayu, keep close to me, do you understand?" Īsan, with his bandage eye, had a serious look on his face.

Mayu nodded, not understanding what was happening. These black blob things were everywhere. With grotesque looking masks on them.

"Jin, I need you to clear a path for us." The guy in a green jacket nodded. He then plucked up something from his jacket. A…

"…is that a grenade?"

* * *

Curiosity got the better of Shuhei and the fairy. Not that they needed to communicate it with each other, because they were running towards the explosion after all.

"Mayu?" He found her with three guys, surrounded by shadows.

The girl in question looked up. But the shadow enemies started their onslaught again, and the guy guarding her had to drag her away.

From the looks of the place, this used to be the reception area of the hospital they were in… before…?

That can't be right. Just earlier, he, Kenta and Mayu was in class. Lunch was about a couple of minutes ago. What is this hospital? There were no nearby hospitals in their school.

"Patra!"

The fairy surrounding him chanted.

Its effect was instantaneous. The haze that muddled his mind was lifted. Yes they were at school earlier, but before that, there was Kenta and that girl Drew. Yes. And then the monsters – no, shadows.

Fact of the matter now is, Mayu and the people protecting her needed to break free from the lock the shadows seemed to have them on.

He turned to the fairy and pointed. "Can you help them?"

He didn't know if he was understood or not, but the fairy seemed to get what he was saying and nodded vehemently.

The fairy shone brightly for a second before saying, "Mazionga!" and summoning a lightning storm.

* * *

"We need to wake up Arisato-san." The group of mysterious students and adult nodded when Drew said that.

"Yes. This whole thing is spiraling out of control because he's asleep." Said the girl with glasses.

"What is Minato-san, anyway?" Kenta asked.

They smiled sadly. "He's… just a boy." Said the rotund boy.

That earned the ire of Drew, "Just a boy… but he's in the middle of this. I at least have the right to know. That Pharos guy was being awfully vague too."

* * *

The procession stopped because there was a blockade that appeared in their way. Not an object. A… something.

It was full of black scales, towering in figure, and had the nastiest of expressions. Fortunately, it wasn't directed at any of the procession participants. No. It's hate was directed towards what can only be described as an automaton chimera.

The figured opened its jaw and _blew_ flames ate the enemy.

Something nagged in Zia. A sense of familiarity, like she knew that, but that couldn't be.

The figure's flames didn't reach the procession – possibly thanks to the Moon and the Nurahiyon, but Zia couldn't be sure. When it's enemy evaporated into black mist, it turned its head and made eye-contact with her.

Zia felt something stir within her. No, not Zia.

_Nephthys?_

A second of tense silence before the being, something whose loosest description could be comparable to a dragon, extended it's wings and flapped once. The dragon launched into the air.

_It's nothing…_

But the tone in the goddess in Zia said otherwise.

And thus, the procession continued.

True to Zia's gut, throughout the procession, the dragon kept a watchful eye of their journey. Quite a few times, when one of those shadow-like creatures was spotted, the dragon breathed fire on them before they could get too close.

* * *

"You guys need to get Kenta to safety first." The group was already discussing what to do with the next step, Drew's question left hanging in the air. _Well, the sooner this is over the sooner we leave all this behind_.

"Wait," Kenta shook his head, "I don't agree to this-"

" **Kenta, listen to me.** "

There was a moment, before Kenta nodded. "Okay."

Drew ignored the looks of the people gave to her after she used her Charmspeak on Kenta, but it's not like they knew, right? Before they could proceed with the discussion, there was a commotion – or rather, the appearance of festive music.

* * *

It was a pincer attack that the shadows did not have the intelligence to overcome. Sure, they had the numbers, but it proved ineffective when strategy was employed.

With the last shadow gone, the group let out a sigh of relief.

Before anyone could say anything, the saw something amazing happening from afar.

It was a procession. But of creatures.


	9. Chapter 9

From the ruined remains of the once pristine hospital lobby, three groups met.

"Mayu!" With Kenta's arm clutched in her hand, Drew ran to her friend. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Drew?"

The two friends hugged each other. "This is a weird dream."

Drew let out a breath, the metaphorical kind, which she's been keeping for a while. " **Yeah, you're right. You're dreaming.** " Because convincing her friend that she was dreaming was the perfect excuse. "Hopefully, you'll wake up from this dream in a while."

The two friends gave each other a look of understanding, before turning to Kenta, who looked confused.

"Lucid dreaming," Mayu elaborated. "When one is aware that they are dreaming."

Drew sent a pleading look at Kenta who nodded – albeit hesitantly.

* * *

"So Minato-niichan's still asleep?" Maiko's head visibly deflated.

Zia walked towards the group of similarly dressed teens led by a female adult.

The one wearing a blue tracksuit patted the kid's head, "Don't worry. We'll help him. He'll wake-up."

She wanted to listen more with their conversation but just outside, a loud thud was heard.

It was that winged, black dragon.

* * *

At first, Sadie didn't recognize her. Because at school, this girl looked very different. Tacky pink eyeliner, heels that sounded like an angry elephant stomping whenever she walked, and always looking like she was some Asian barbie doll with her silky hair and loud clothes. That was her default look – in BAG that is. Lacy also doesn't like her.

In fact, what made her unrecognizable was the fact that she was so… _affectionate_. To that girl and that boy. Like they were dear to her.

Alas, it was unmistakable.

This was Drew Tanaka – the school tyrant. Ringleader of one of the most notorious cliques Sadie has ever known. If Regina George was given an Asian reskin and got relabeled as Plastic Bag, that was her.

The villainess.

She who has everyone at the palm of her hands.

"Drew Tanaka." Her voice was crisp, almost piercing.

The girl in question froze up upon hearing her name get called.

Sadie's smile was annoyed. "Why am I not surprised you're in the middle of this mess?"

* * *

Shuhei saw Kenta. "Kenta! My man, you're alive!" He hooked his friend's neck with his arm and dragged him away from Drew and Mayu – Mayu and Drew were busy talking to each other to notice them.

"I see you're okay as well, Shuhei."

"Of course, it's going to take a lot more than that to get rid me, you know."

The fairy that had helped Shuhei flew towards them and dragged him by the ear.

"Ow-hey!" Shuhei was led until he and Kenta were outside of the building.

* * *

The presence of the Moon created a haven for the assembled yokai. Not only that, the dragon who settled just outside breathed fire to any of that black _wrongness_ that dared to get closer on the safety net's boundary.

A few god attendants created a receiving area for their leader as did some of the yokai for theirs.

"So, may I ask what the esteemed Moon will do now that they've entered the Anomaly?" Nurahiyo asked, seiza impeccable on a zabuton, eyes unseen from all the wrinkles on his face.

"Investigate." Tsukuyomi was seated cross-legged on his zabuton. The one that was floating on a cloud.

"Interesting. The yokai and I will go towards Minato-sama." There was a silence that passed, "You're welcome to join us."

Tsukuyomi's reply was left unheard because then, the Nurahiyon was gone, as well as his entourage.

* * *

Shuhei and Kenta had to squint. The fairy was eluding something from high up but seeing as the night sky was barely illuminated by the eerie green hue of the moon; it was very hard to see what it was.

"I don't get it. What are we looking at?" Shuhei asked the fairy.

"She's just worried." Said a third voice.

"Ooh! Kaichou!"

"You do realize that was just an illusion, right?" The boy who had been called _kaichou_ all this time had a gruff-looking face. Currently, he had a smug look on his face, but the glint in his eyes told them otherwise.

Shuhei thought about it, and then snapped his fingers. "You're right! I _don't_ know you."

His face was one of those rough-looking ones. Despite the spotless schoolboy appearance, his aura was like his _boss._ His gang's leader.

"In any case, any idea what's going?" Kenta's voice made all eyes turn to him.

* * *

Drew knew who she was. One of those girls that tried to steer clear from her – in her previous school. Well, not that she could blame her, Drew was a piece of work when she studied in that school.

Still, she was a nameless girl who tried to keep a low profile. Especially since Lacy, her demigod sister, had taken a liking to her. Drew didn't really involve herself into the girl's business – because of Lacy. Even though the two demigod siblings held no affection for each other, Drew knew her boundaries. A solidarity born from an unspoken rule between fellow cabinmates in Camp – to a time before Silena was their leader.

But her hostility though. " _Hello_." She settled with that – in English.

This girl immediately learned that her jab had backfired on her. Verbal spars – where everything has double-meaning, with every word used in the exchange were weapons tipped with poison – were what Drew excelled in.

 _Shady_ , is what her 'friends' called her before in America.

Drew watched as the girl's defiant stance crumbled when she countered her opening with kindness – read: non-hostility. Snarky-ness loses its sharpness when returned with impeccable thoughtfulness.

" _W-well! I didn't really think you were dragged into this mess_." It was a decent follow-up. She _was_ younger and messing up added to her aesthetic, but Drew knew how to destroy young saplings like her – it was why she was able to keep her reign on the school.

" _As we all. I didn't think you're one to accuse someone of being the one who started this mess._ "  
Translation: Bitch, I want you to repeat that again, I dare you.

To destroy a girl with this type of archetype (the tomboyish, fiery but cutesy kind), one just had to imply that her words had crossed a line. Bonus points if done with grace (and fake kindness).

Drew knew that she won the battle when the girl's friend, the pretty girl with caramel-colored skin, looked at the girl with disapproving eyes.

" _Sadie_!" Critical hit, because her friend sounded like the no-nonsense type.

The girl named Sadie shrunk further.

The female patted Sadie's shoulder and turned to Drew and Mayu. " _I'm sorry about that_."

Drew, if she was still the same Drew at BAG, knew how to put the final nail on the coffin (one that designated this girl with role of outcast) but since she isn't here with a vendetta – at least against this Sadie girl, she let it slide.

" _Don't be, tonight's just been really hard on us_."

Translation: It's okay, it's not like she knew that I have been through far worse tonight.

Doesn't mean she couldn't be shady.

 _That_ earned a light elbow from Mayu.

The ice princess (with her limited English) saw through Drew. Ignoring Mayu's face that looked like she was burning a hole through her head, she looked at the two girls and said, "I think let's speak with everyone over there."

The battle over, with Sadie's reputation smeared in Zia's eyes, the four girls walked over to the gods.

–only to find that Nurahiyon had left the area of that pristine-looking supernatural person.

* * *

Gods on one side, Yokai on the other. Humanity, composed of three factions, converged between the two.

One was the group who had tried and succeeded in entering the [Anomaly] – people who were well-versed in the supernatural.

The second was a group of mysterious people who wore similar clothes – a school uniform and PE clothes of an unknown, almost foreign, school. Except for that one woman, but they referred to her as their teacher. There was that teen too with the green jacket, but while he couldn't be part of the group, he kept close to them. They were the one who generally kept to themselves, but the first group saw them and thought it fit to approach them.

The last group were Drew's group – the bystanders. People who were drawn to the assembly because the first two groups were converging together.

"Any idea how Arisato-san got mixed into this mess?"

Drew's voice was polite, but with a hint of annoyance, just to ensure that people would need to answer her question.

The leader of the mysterious group, the adult woman, stepped up. "He's… he's going through some things." She had wood-colored hair and had that no-nonsense air.

"So he _is_ the cause of this [Anomaly]." The Magician said, making a hammering motion using his fist and an open palm.

"Not that he wanted to." Added the teacher.

"What do you mean?" Asked the Priestess.

"What do you do when you've fulfilled your purpose?"

Odd question, but Drew had enough with their vagueness. "I'll be happy, of course! But what's this got to do with what's happening right now?"

"Ah," the bespectacled female student with a student council band on her arm spoke up, "But what if, at the end of your journey, you find out that all that you hold dear have been lost in the sands of time?"

"I, for one, would be upset," Sadie's companion, the pretty girl with caramel-colored skin said.

"That's exactly what Minato-kun fee–"

"Who cares?" Sadie crossed her arms, "Let's just wake him up already." She stepped forward, "It's enough that I know this dude's behind this."

"Huh?" The assembled humans turned to her.

"We're here to get rid of an [Anomaly], not understand how it works. The result is what matters."

Drew flipped her hair in an annoyed manner. "She's right. Besides, I'd rather not think that he just wants someone to comfort him. Because if he was, he's acting pretty childish, if you ask me." Drew had a sneaking suspicion as to why there was a reason why all these supernatural beings are gathered around, and she's not talking about the Japanese gods and yokai.

Drew turned to the mysterious students and teacher. "He's fighting those shadows right now, isn't he? Despite being unconscious, he's been trying to contain them?" That if he could control gods from the Indian pantheon, maybe he too could control beings from other factions. Those monsters they were fighting, as evidenced to that time a few days ago, Minato was doing crowd control.

At the mysterious group's silence, the one wearing a green jacket laughed. And applauded.

"Wonderful! This girl's got it."

He turned to the group of high school students (plus teacher) and nodded. "Go. Bebe needs your help. I'll talk to them."

They nodded and, without any words exchanged, entered the hospital.

Once they were gone, he turned around and grinned at Drew. "Amazing deduction skills."

"We may be acquaintances, but I know of him." Drew said. "He's…"

"He's a nice boy." This came from Mayu. "He helps people without asking for anything in return."

_Taichi would've explained it much be-_

"He protects the weak." Shuhei chimed in.

When everyone looked at him, Drew included, Shuhei made an apologetic face. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you guys knew him." He stood straighter, "I'm someone who's… a little in on the dark side of the neighborhood. My crew had a run-in with him when one of the nearby rival crews was harassing the locals – he was trying to help someone from getting beaten up."

Mayu looked surprised. "I didn't know that."

Shuhei laughed, "Me and my crew respect him a lot because of it. We visit him in his place of work just to check in on him, you know?"

"Before anything," Sadie cut-in, looking confused, "Is this Arisato person and Minato person the same?"

All eyes turned to her. The Magician said yes and explained Japanese honorifics and such.

Sadie's friend tried to intervene, to take all the reproachful look of eyes off of Sadie, "Sorry for being insensitive." When most eyes soften a bit, "I'm sure he's a nice guy too, but how does that relate to him fighting these shadows?"

"He's the one in control of everything except the shadows." Drew said, before adding, "I think." She turned to green-jacket guy.

"Not everything." The guy in the green jacket said. "the name's –

[ Moros ]

There was a voice that spoke into Drew's head.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Jin," the guy in a green jacket said. "My name's Jin. Anyway, Minato is… special."

* * *

"He's the [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ]."

What was that word (?) again? Mayu wanted to repeat what Jin said, but the way how his mouth moved, the way his jaw clenched, the sound that came from his vocal cords, it didn't feel, hear and look like a word a normal human could replicate.

"The what?" Drew repeated.

"He's Exalted." Came from the Priestess. Eyes set on one of her. _I think I know this person._ If she were a little younger, a little shorter. If she dressed in a certain way, with loud colors and dabbling in lip tints, she'd look just like. "You're Suzu's sister."

Drew looked at Mayu and the Priestess.

Miyoko: the older, wiser, _better_ version. At least that's what people in the neighborhood said. They'd followed it with a click of their tongues because said person was rebelling – well both sisters were rebelling, Miyoko just took it one step further.

The Priestess named Miyoko tilted her head. "I'm sorry, do we know each other?"

Mayu shook her head then bowed respectfully. "No, we're friends of your sister."

"You're right; she does look like an older Suzu."

"We're getting off-track here," Sadie said, "What does Exalted even mean? I mean, Isis tried to explain it to me, but I don't even know if what she's saying is in English or not."

"He's what we'd call Bodhisattva in my sect. But I think he's already transcended that." Said the Buddhist.

The Magician turned to the Buddhist, "Is that even possible though? To transcend [Enlightenment]?"

"I don't know…" The Buddhist said unsure. He crossed his arms, "I still don't like you."

"We need to wake up Minato." Jin said, adjusting his glasses.

"Yeah, I've heard that, like, five times already." Drew said. "At this point, since all of ya'll aren't answering my questions about Arisato-san, I don't care anymore. Let's just go."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa-" Sadie stepped up. "What are you gonna do? I don't even know what you're doing here." She crossed her arms, "How'd you end up in Japan, anyway?"

Jin waved a hand at her dismissively, "She can wake him up."

"How?" Sadie's friend asked.

Drew turned around, "I just can, that's all you need to know." _Even if Minato is somehow resistant to my Charmspeak_.

Sadie raised a hand in defense, "Okay. But, where is he then?"

"Look up."

* * *

The Moon, being the deification of a heavenly body, felt something amiss of said heavenly body.

"Milord?"

While Tsukuyomi had near absolute [Administrative Access] to the satellite orbiting around the planet – just like the other gods and goddesses that represented the moon, something was off about it right now.

It was faint when he entered the anomaly. But now that he has time to reflect (pun) something akin to poison was residing in the moon. But it wasn't an insidious poison. Like when you used an ingredient on a dish that should never be used in said dish.

"Let us investigate the moon."

* * *

"He's up there? Cool. All we need is to get there." Sadie said.

"Excuse me." The Priestess said quietly, bowing and going back to the gods of Takamagahara.

The Buddhist watched as the Priestess stepped on the gods' cloud and blended into the background as the cloud ascended into the heavens. "Easier said than done." He said.

"Yeah, the Nurahiyon's gone." The Magician said. "His [Mystery] was able to keep us safe."

"We don't need him anymore." Zia said, getting everyone's attention.

"Zia?"

"I've got us a ride." She pointed at the hulking figure just a couple of feet away.

"That dragon?"

"Not a dragon." Zia said.

* * *

 _He is Set_.

The goddess said. Zia wasn't sure if... _Wait, did I hear that right?_

_He is. At least a different version of my husband. But still my husband nonetheless._

_Are you sure that he will help us?_ Zia asked.

_My dear, if he was after us, he would've reduced us to ashes by now. It would've been that easy for him. Trust me._

_I don't though. I don't trust you gods one bit. Not even you–_ especially _you._

The goddess Nephthys was quiet for a moment _, Ask my sister's host. Isis will recognize him for sure._

"Sadie, would you like to ride Set?" Zia settled with that.

Her friend looked at her like she grew an extra head, but there was a pause before she nodded.

 _See, I was right. Isis knows that that's Set_.

The two magicians walked towards the winged creature – the one the goddesses called their brother. The very same that, a few months ago, was trying to kill them.

"Hello, Set." Zia or maybe Nephthys (?!) said.

The dragon didn't say anything, and merely nodded its head and bowed. It's long serpentine neck made it easy for it to reach the ground.

The two magicians took the queue to climb on top the dragon's head.

Zia looked at the others, "Let us go."

* * *

"Riding a flying dragon instead of climbing up the tower…" Drew turned to Mayu who was muttering something to herself. "Very subversive."

"Are you okay?" Kenta turned to Mayu.

Said girl was biting her thumb's nail, "Oh, yes. I'm fine, Kenta. It's just that normally; a journey set in a tower is done by climbing said tower."

"We don't have the time and energy to climb the tower." Drew recognized the boy, he was the one who escorted her and Minato out of the Underworld a few days ago.

Still…

She leaned towards her female friend and whispered, "Mayu, you know that guy?"

Mayu turned to Drew then to the boy, "Oh, I forgot to introduce you guys, this is Īsan."

They boy looked at Drew, and somehow, acted like it was their first time meeting. "Hello."

Good thing, because that's exactly what Drew wanted. "Nice to meet you."

Mayu smiled, "I just met him today, at the hospital."

"Somehow, you three chatting like we aren't riding a freaken dragon is kinda funny to me." Shuhei said. "I mean, here we are, clutching for dear life on some dragon, and you three are talking like we're in school or some shit."

"Well, this is a dream after all, you know." Mayu said.

"Yeah, speaking about that, well–

_Boom! Crash! Crack!_

"We're here." The pretty girl named Zia called out. She was the one who took to riding the dragon with ease the most. Right after her, Sadie. The two girls rode atop the dragon's head while the others rode on the dragon's back.

* * *

They were on the building's rooftop.

That foreign-looking student named Bebe was fighting Minato, or what appears to be a still unconscious Minato surrounded by a black aura. And countless shadow creatures that made her godly heritage scream.

"Sadie? What're you doing?" Zia called out.

Drew turned to the two girls and saw Sadie became enveloped in this iridescent light. The wings appeared from her back. Wings made of swirling rainbows.

She launched up from the dragon's head and joined the fray.

"That's my queue, I guess." Her body trembled with a mix of emotions: fear and nervousness but also excitement. Like this was a battle she needed to be in. That defeating those shadows were the purpose of her life. She feared for her safety, yes, but at the same time, she feared for the safety of her friends and the bystanders caught in this conflict – her godly heritage giving her the necessary mental fortitude and quite possibly the endorphins in her bloodstream to partake in this battle.

"We're coming with you." This came from Mayu.

Drew turned to her friend, then to Kenta who agreed with Mayu, "No you're not. You're both gonna stay here and be safe."

"But-"

" **Sleep**."

And her two friends, plus that Shuhei guy, were out like a light. She turned to Īsan, "Watch over them for me."

Īsan cradled Mayu's unconscious form close to him while he used his hands to grab onto Kenta and Shuhei. "Break a leg."

She smiled, "Thanks."

She turned to the two other humans, the Buddhist and the Magician, "And you?"

"We're coming with you." The Buddhist summoned his shakujo, his staff, while the Magician patted the baboon on his shoulder.

She nodded at them then to Jin. "We're ready."


	10. Chapter 10

* * *

[ _BGM_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HMQQLodFY0)

* * *

Sadie came down like lightning.

[ A'Max ]

Her voice was crisp, almost quiet, but the way how she spoke: it was like she was ordering the world. And thus, in turn, the world answered her command. With that simple word, the world became her servant.

Immediately the mob that surrounded Minato became engulfed in flames. In that single moment, Sadie, without much thought but with much potency, summoned a blaze.

The battle was on.

There was a blonde teen from below, using a simple fan to slice through the air, creating winds so sharp, they tore the shadows into shreds.

Also...

Wind with fire, if given as nourishment, intensified that flame.

The sleeping form of a boy – probably that Minato guy – were surrounded by that insipid _blackness._

_Isis, that him?_

The goddess within her was quiet for a moment. Before confirming.

The boy floated into the air.

From his surroundings, another horde of demons appeared. Airborne caricatures of what might have been aviary creatures, swirls of wrongness, ones that blended well into the shadows, and disgusting looking foes made of stone, steel, flesh and bones.

Flight, while an advantage in a land battle, was entirely different if both parties had access to it.

It was Sadie against the entirety of all the flying creatures.

Her lustrous wings flapped. Magic swirled in her fingertips. And there was a sort of uncontrollable yet giddy shake in her movements. Licking her lips, she summoned her staff from the Duat.

[ Ha-di ]

* * *

The floor is lava. Not really, but also yes – metaphorically.

Sadie and Bebe have created this almost sentient flame that indiscriminately destroyed the summoned non-flying horde.

Still they had to actually _be_ near Minato to actually do something. Drew had asked Zia to bring them as close to the battle as possible – without putting Īsan and her friends in any harm.

On the somehow still-standing rooftop of the tower, her feet landed with a slight shake.

Her dagger in her arm, she turned to the Buddhist and the Magician.

The MMO mindset dictates that you dope up the buffs as much as you can before the start of a serious battle. She used the tip of her dagger to point at her group.

" **Harden**. **Resist**. **Strengthen**. **Quicken**. **Finesse**. **Agility**. **Flexibility**." Those were at the top of her head, but for good measure, she added: " **Endure**. **Success**."

She then proceeded to do the same to herself. _Kakekotoba_ – or a derived form of it somehow complemented well with her Charmspeak. _Maybe._ At least, that's how Drew thought of it.

She stumbled upon this discovery very early on when she decided to run away to Japan. That in learning the _kanji_ of things and it's artistic and nuanced expressions, she's managed to do something akin to [Divine Words]. Not that Drew knew what [Divine Words] were, but it was a shock to her when she accidentally created an intense fire when she used Charmspeak while thinking of the _kanji:_

炎  
Honō  
(fire/flame/blaze)

Of course, she could use short phrases to similar effect, but for someone who could weaponize her verbal language, a string of single words that have different effects were more useful than using precious seconds in securing a single phrase for a singular effect.

Multi-casting, basically. That while Drew has no talent for the arcane, she managed to overcome that hurdle by creating a shortcut by bypassing arias, prayers, and chants - making use of a single word to create an imitation of a [Mystery of Miracle].

The downside of this power was the fact that her 'buffs' tended to end pretty quickly. No matter, short but strong burst were much preferred that long but mediocre burst - at least in battle.

The two men turned to each other, then to Drew, "That was-"

No time for explanations: "Ready?"

They nodded.

She turned to Jin, "Let's do this."

* * *

The Buddhist was in the zone. With a clear voice, his mind in _mushin no shin_ – or a Zen state, he chanted his sutra. This sutra was one that created a defensive barrier that emanated from him.

He needed to get Drew closer to Minato-kun.

The rings of his shakujo chimed, and for good measure he slammed the end of his staff into the ground, imparting and imprinting the sutra into the [World]'s consciousness, manifesting as an earthly green bubble that surrounded him.

* * *

Okay, so the Buddhist was more like a bard instead of a mage – which meant that for the duration of this battle, he mustn't be interrupted because his entire [Mystery] would collapse if he gets interrupted.

The bubble that surrounded them were littered with writings that Drew's only seen on Buddhist scripts – but then again, she didn't know much about it.

Drew nodded at him and turned to the Magician, "Let's go."

With that, they entered the sea of flames.

* * *

Zia supported Sadie as her friend battled the airborne enemies. "Set!"

Surprisingly, the dragon she rode on was receptive to her whims – acting almost in perfect harmony with how she wanted it to act. Almost like telepathy. Then again, it must be because of the connection with the goddess she had hosted before.

With a strong roar, the dragon breathed fire on the mob.

Sadie turned to Zia and smiled, "Thanks!" She turned to the battle on the rooftop, "Let's help them out!"

Then again, more flying mobs appeared. "After we take care of them."

* * *

The few shadows that managed to penetrate the barrier created by the Buddhist, they had to fight.

The Magician was starting to tire. It's only been a few meters but the onslaught of foes that were able to withstand the hard and strong winds, while not few, were strong as hell.

In that short span, he's used three out of his five shabti, almost drained out of his magical reserves, and almost out of his tricks. It's gotten to the point where Khufu was contributing more than him, using baboon magic that sent the enemy forces in disarray.

Still, whatever Drew did to him, it seems to have worked, because usually, he should've been out of the battle a while ago.

Speaking of Drew, the demigod was fighting within the barrier. Definitely a demigod. Almost on auto-pilot, letting her heritage do the heavy lifting.

That Jin guy was also doing work – he somehow was able to get the attention of the shadows and make them target him.

Not wanting to give up his already limited aces, the magician summoned his _khopesh_.

* * *

So… the barrier was a ward. It kept the intense heat out, kept a certain threshold of weak shadows out, but was unable to prevent the stronger ones from entering.

While the Buddhist was a bard, Jin was something akin to a provoke tank. Whatever powers he has, if it ever was powers, he was able to get the attention of the shadows that crossed their paths and make them focus solely on him. That in turn made it easy for her and the magician to focus their assault.

She didn't even buff him up earlier, mostly because she forgot, but he really didn't needed it.

Drew was already pushing herself – she hasn't fought this long, and hard, and as tenacious before.

For sure, she lacked – actually, she was so incompetent in fighting it amazed her she was still alive. Her godly heritage was what kept her alive and literally kicking.

"We're almost there!" She could see Minato's floating, sleeping form just a few meters away.

Bebe kept him contained on the spot, but barely.

His once pristine, almost cartoony, bowl cut was in disarray, his hair swept back due to the strong winds.

In the air, Zia and Sadie made sure that the flying enemies wouldn't focus on them.

It was up to them. Up to her. So she needed to get close to Minato as soon as possible.

* * *

Nephthys and Zia were incompatible, elementally that is. Zia was proficient in fire while Nephthys was a goddess of rivers.

But that doesn't mean they couldn't be in-tuned with each other. Nephthys was also a goddess of Bereavement and Lamentation.

Maybe that was why her connection to the goddess has been so strong as of late – having experienced Iskandar's passing.

Still, because of that, maybe because of having hosted the goddess before, Zia has become more in-tune with the 'incredible sadness' of others.

Zia motioned for Set to move closer to her friend, "Sadie?"

"Are you okay?"

Her friend turned to her, "Zia, what're you- I'm fine!"

She wasn't.

"You aren't."

"We're in the middle of fighting, Zia, we cannot get distracted."

Zia didn't feel the venom in her tone at all. Because if anything, she looked like…

* * *

_Go away._

A summer festival in a shrine – a pink yukata. That boy, surprisingly in a _jinbei_ *-

"You have a nicer figure."

There was a girl who walked passed, with a yukata much better than hers – [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ] knew that she deflated because she put so much thought in what she was wearing tonight. So, he complemented her on something that she had.

Not that they were going out too, and besides there was takoyaki-

 _These aren't mine_.

An old letter sent only to her. "I loved him a lot, and I believed he'd never do anything wrong." A father's letter in spring. _To my family_ , the letter said.

"Why does reality have to be so harsh…?"

She said that to [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ].

"Don't lose hope."

_Stop._

An amazingly ordinary evening at the local mall after school. The Yuletide season in full bloom and she'd mustered to courage to give him-

_Isis, what is this?_

_These…_

_These aren't my memories._

"-adie."

She shook her head.

"Sadie!" Zia looked at her with concern.

There was… she touched her cheek. Her face was wet.

"I-"

* * *

"Almost there!" Jin called out.

They'd run past the sea of flames and was met with tempest winds. The Buddhist was tiring now – but he must press on with his sutra because the tempest winds were much harsher than the flames from earlier.

They were now in the heart of battle.

When they were within earshot, Drew called out to Minato.

" **Minato,** " her voice was crystal clear, " **Wake up**!"

But her voice was drowned out by the intense wind, maybe. Drew hoped it was that.

She turned to Bebe, and called out, "Hey, one moment! Give me one moment!"

Bebe's trance-like state changed. She saw his eyes, glassy yet with fire to one of compassion. "Ah, okay!"

The howling winds stopped, and Minato's sleeping form rampaged unimpeded. Bebe dodged, apparently using his affinity with wind to jump higher and farther than normal.

The focus however was with Bebe, and any distance they were able to close-in with Minato will be naught if he'd only chase after Bebe.

"Hey!" Jin shouted.

His words didn't register.

That's the moment when the barrier around them fell, and Drew, in the corner of her eye, say the Buddhist collapse in exhaustion.

With the barrier down, they had nothing preventing them from this onslaught.

But also, there was nothing preventing them from interacting with Minato.

"Hey!" Jin shouted again, and the just like all the other times when Jin kited the shadows, Minato's sleeping form turned to him. "Yeah, that's right, focus only on me-"

" **Minato! Awaken!** "

* * *

"Dude, help me out a little."

Minato turned to Junpei and laughed a little, " _was_."

His voice barely a whisper. But his accent was impeccable.

Junpei nodded, gave a thumbs up at him secretly, " _Was_."

The teacher looked at him, scrunched up his face before nodding, "I supposed it's a fifty-fifty chance. Very well." He cleared his throat. " _Correct._ " He said in his accented English.

Later on, at the Home Ec room, he and Fuuka baked oatmeal cookies.

"So, like sift then measure or measure then sift?" Fuuka said absentmindedly.

Minato didn't want to disrupt her process but he did guide her a little – follow by example.

An hour later, they were treated with a fresh batch of passable cookies. Minato's retained it's shaped while Fuuka still needed improvement.

"Hey, at least this time we don't have to shave off the charred bits!" Fuuka said with shining eyes. She eagerly stuffed her cookies of a pack that she carefully created.

That night, at the dorm, while he lazed around in the common area on the first floor with Koromaru, Akihiko-senpai suggested they jog tomorrow morning.

Which is how he found himself waking up at 5:00AM and doing warm-up stretches at 5:30AM in front of their dorm. He, Akihiko-senpai and Koromaru spent the morning jogging and having fun.

By lunch, Mitsuru-senpai came to his class to inform him of a student council meeting after school.

During the meeting, the members were treated with a surprise birthday with one of the student leaders, Mitsuru holding a toast with orange juice to the team. Most of the members watched in awe as Mitsuru ended her toast but in order to hype-up the party Minato gave her some applause and encouraged everyone to start eat the snacks.

Minato approached Mitsuru when the party was winding down, to which he was thanked for making her first surprise-party-for-a-clubmate a 'resounding success.' It was also her first time having a party where the partygoers didn't eat hors d'oeuvres but cheap vending matching snacks – it was truly an amazing experience.

Since he'd eaten quite a lot during the party, Minato skipped dinner, only to regret it at 10PM because he's too hungry to feel sleepy.

Going down to the dorm kitchen, he was surprised to find Ken still up and was about to reprimand him but also understood him when he saw what he was doing – the previous season's sentai show's apparently having a rerun right now.

Shinjiro also has gotten back from his parttime work as kitchen aide from a nearby restaurant. He brought leftovers with him, which he, Ken and Shinjiro ate with gusto.

Going back to his room, he was met with Aigis.

…Aigis?

Who is Aig-

An automated doll?

A girl in a blue dress?

The girl named Aigis called out to him. Her mouth moved. She must've said something…?

"Isn't it time for you wake up now?"

Huh?

The dorm faded out. It was only her, and him in this vast space of nothingness.

It was dark, but Aigis pointed at something far-

"Over there!"

Yeah, I know… that light-

* * *

The black mass started to struggled while the unconscious Minato started to glow.

Drew saw the mass _s_ _olidify._ Take shape into-

"Reaooooooorrraawwwgh!"

She turned and saw the monstrous appearance of Pharos, his coffin-like wings glimmering under the moonlight.

Opening his jaw, energy started to condense.

Another roar and a beam of energy (lightning?) burst forth and hit the mass point blank.

Whether it did damage or not didn't matter because the strength of the attack made the unconscious Minato separate completely.

"Minato nii-chan!"

From out of nowhere, a girl with a ranseru appeared, floating in the air. Using both hands, she stopped the flying teen and slowly placed him on the ground.

Drew ran towards the two.

"Who're-"

"Can you try waking him up again?" the child said, laying down Minato safely on the floor.

Drew nodded: " **Wake up**."

* * *

Jin had a sneaking suspicion as to what caused Minato's coma, so when Drew's powers didn't work, he shed his mortal coil.

"Drew," manifesting as his Persona self didn't take a toll here, especially since they were in an Anomaly, a version of the Dark Hour created from Minato's desire to contain the thing that had attached itself to his psyche.

The girl turned to him and jumped away. "Who're you?"

"It's me," a steel limb he called his arm was waved. "Jin. But this what I really look like – I'm a Persona."

"A Persona…? Like that Pharos guy?"

The Magician dragged the exhausted Buddhist towards them, Khufu not that far from them.

In the background, Thanatos faced off with the black mass, while the [place holder] of the Temperance Arcana supported him.

"We don't have much time, but I think I have an idea." He turned to the baboon, "Thoth, I think I need your help in this one too."

The baboon's head turned side to side. There was a moment before Khufu's eyes glowed white.

* * *

[ _BGM_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5YGxMjywSk)

* * *

"Sadie, take a step back, you're not okay." Zia signaled Set to breathed fire again, as the swarm of shadows started to overwhelm her friend.

"I'm okay!" the blonde called back. "I'm fine, really I am."

"No, you're not! You're crying, for gods' sake."

Sadie turned to Zia, eyes tearing up, "These aren't mine!"

At Zia's puzzled look, the goddess that she'd hosted before spoke up.

_Zia, if you'll let me._

A second passed, but Zia just somehow understood what Nephthys wanted to do. Maybe because they were one, at least one before. The residual thoughts of a goddess of Lamentation have created a link between them, but alas, for the first time since breaking free from her, Zia gave in to the goddess.

And surrendered herself to the entire power of the cosmos.

* * *

"If we can't force it out, what if we break into it?"

The god Thoth used a hand, a baboon's hand, to stroke his chin. "I don't see why not. The balance tips towards the scale of [Exit] making it easy to [Enter]. Nice thinking."

"Who would or could go into his mind then?" The Magician asked. Sure, these were gods (he recognized the Egyptian god of Wisdom at least) but these were cheese-elemental magics he hasn't learned since he was an initiate in the House of Life. Conceptual magic was an all-together a scary discipline to go specialize in.

Besides, the sheer number of facets that element has is so astounding, that he was surprised that their organization had very few mages who was at the forefront of that discipline.

"Only I would suffice," the robot-like god said dismissively. "If who I think is keeping Minato from waking up is inside his psyche, then I think only I would be able to do something about it."

He turned to Drew, "The question now is, will Drew's powers be enough to break through that metaphysical boundary and let me cross an entirely different plane of reality?"

"I'm sorry, what?" understandably, Drew was lost too.

Thoth took it in stride, "True, true. We are in an [Anomaly], after all, where the [World]'s logic is far from our reach."

… _but?_

Thoth's baboon face grinned, "But that can also mean that it will be just as easy to break through that boundary."

If Jin had a face, the Magician was sure to have seen him smile, "That's just a risk I have to take I guess."

* * *

Zia-Nephthys: for someone who doesn't follow the Path of the Gods, this was the best form these two could take. Her friend-sister needed help.

She who represents life is mourning, and the Zia-Nephthys is there to offer respite.

Wings, similar to what her friend-sister had donned, appeared. Unlike Sadie's bright, rainbow-like glimmer, Nephthys was less subdued. But in no way was it less impressive.

Sadie's wingspan dwarfed hers so immensely, it was like comparing a child to a parent's. The hue was just as impressive, but unlike Isis who reveled in adoration and splendor, Nephthys colors were more like colors of dusk – hues of blues, violets, purples and specles of _stars._ Like the night sky or a treasure-ridden deep sea was donned on her back.

Set nodded at her when she made eye contact at the dragon. "Set, I leave them to you."

Her aura was immense, enough to exert pressure so strong that weak shadows simply evaporated by her mere presence.

The dragon roared gleefully before gliding back, keeping Drew's-Aphrodite's demigod's friends away from harm.

Summoning Zia's staff, Nephthys concentrated her power.

**The night air is rife with lamentation.**

**I have heard your weeping.  
** **I have felt your loss.**

 **And I, Nephthys, Purveyor of Loss and Acceptance  
** **Shall give you your peace.**

* * *

The black mass, having been cornered by Bebe and Thanatos, was left unable to do anything by the appearance of the Night Sky.

Nephthys called forth the powers of the night sky.

Bolts made from darkness, concentrated beams of starlight, and reflected lasers of sunlight were aimed at the foe that dared to desecrate the glorious mourning taking place in the [Anomaly]. But having manifested herself in this reality at nearly full power meant that this [Anomaly] was merely a Temple – an enclosure made to confine something: Loss.

As [Lady of the Enclosure], her powers were near-absolute. The fact that the origin had created this area where he could heal was more than enough to power her.

It had taken a moment for her to understand the situation,  
but this story,  
this night,

is a night of Mourning.

Isis had felt it the moment she manifested. But as to why she was grieving, Nephthys doesn't know. However, it was such a night.

That boy too - the [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ]… He too was grief-stricken.

And for this mass of _wrongness_ to desecrate that sacred process? Such blasphemy! Such sacrilege!

She might not be someone oriented in combat, and while she couldn't use her [Authority] with water because Zia was inclined to fire, she was still a goddess.

So, she unleashed her power.

The stars, the night sky, her affinity to death; everything that she could use, she used.

The moon -however...

However, the moon…

* * *

Something was in the moon.

Tsukuyomi and his entourage had reached the celestial body and had dived deep into its core.

And on their first step on their core-

"▂▂▂▂▄▃▃▃▃▄▄▄▅▅▅▅!"

She who slumbers,  
She who is the origin of all,

Goddess of Creation

[ Mother Night ]

Tsyukuyomi tried to put up a fight.

The [Moon] against [Her].

But...

* * *

Chiron looked up at the sky – dawn had gone past. But the constellations were in fear, something _primal_ was about to end its slumber. Despite this, Pisces continued with their mantra.

Ichthus. Ikthus. The Ichthusis there. Ichthys. Ichthus-!

Something was off with the sky too, was it getting dark-

* * *

In the Anomaly, [She] manifested.

The battle stopped at the immense weight of her presence. The Moon, full yet eerily green, _rumbled._

And then, the _wrongness_ that they were fighting became inconsequential.

**I am the…**

**I am thou…  
** **And thou art I…**

**From Sea of Souls…?  
?**

**I am Genesis.  
** **Alpha-Omega…?**

**She Who Gave Birth To Life**

**Paradox Incarnate**

**I am…**

the [World] trembled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *as far as I recall, in the original games, Minato wasn't in a jinbei during the festival date, but let's just say that he was
> 
> credits:
> 
> HyperGlyph Games for composing 1st OST used
> 
> NoireSama for uploading BGM used  
> [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEB24Vyg6rpQ51s8vRD1bnQ ]
> 
> Yuka Tsujiyoko (composer) and Takeru Kanazaki (arrangement) of the 2nd OST used
> 
> m for uploading BGM used  
> [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFAdYmeLr5QYW2Pl0X4m-VA ]


	11. Chapter 11

**Where is your fire?**

A claw made of darkness, slashing.

**Where is your tenacity?**

A silhouette made of long limbs, dark as night.

**Where is the power of humanity that you were so proud of?**

An eerie smile, serene yet cruel, vile yet comforting.

* * *

The standstill was broken by the appearance of the [Night].

Zia-Nephthys was barely able to keep herself afloat by the very presence of Genesis itself.

 _Genesis?_ Zia asked.

The feelings emerging from Sadie's chest was incomprehensible.

Sadness.

The loss of someone dear.

Father.

Mother.

* * *

From the moon, [She] descended.

Power

Unbridled

Immovable

Indomitable

Taller than all beings, she stood among them all.

Monolithic

With hollow eyes, her 'gaze' settled on a single figure.

The [Shadow] squirmed.

* * *

Drew was on the ground, twitching. Pulses running though her body, sweating from dread.

Out of the corner, she saw the Buddhist and the Magician in the same state.

Jin and the baboon…

"Drew," The robot-like creature that was once Jin whispered. He was standing steadfast in the presence of that _thing_ , "Do it now. You have to send me into [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ]'s psyche."

The baboon sat on the ground. "Only then would he be free from this nightmare."

"That's funny." The Magician laughed a pained laugh. "We're still trying to save this guy?"

Jin turned, his back against the looming figure of [Her] and stared at the quivering mortals.

"The silent voice within one's heart whispers the most profound wisdom."

The irony was that these words were what [Her Avatar] has said to [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ] before.

A bell chimed.

* * *

In the nightmare that is this reality, the darkest hour for humanity, a place of most sorrowful bliss and tragedy, he approached.

Nurahiyon

Contrasting the looming air of regret and loss, the festivities brought forth pause to the entire balance of this delicate battle.

**Celebrate life's grandeur!**

**It's brilliance…  
** **It's magnificence…**

 **Young boy  
** **You're too young to carry the weight of the world in your shoulders.**

His head turned to Drew, "My dear, if you will…"

* * *

Drew nodded. Her powers combined with Nurahiyon: could work. Probably.

Despite the pain, despite her body telling her not too, she forced herself to crawl towards the sleeping form of Minato.

The Yokai, in terror but also in reverence, have stopped the festivities and lowered Nurahiyon's palanquin.

When Drew was in arm's length with her schoolmate, she placed a hand on his chest.

So did Jin, a metal limb touching the boy and Drew's hand.

Nurahiyon too. A bony, wrinkly hand touching the three beings.

" **Just you wait Arisato-san,  
** **We'll wake you up!** "

And the world cracked.

* * *

In the darkness, there was only him.

The path towards the light proved too close yet too far from his reach.

No. There was a barrier that prevented him from stepping into the light.

Detached from the Sea of Souls… _?_

_Is this the Sea of Souls?_

But where are its denizens?

There was… nothing here.

Still, if he learned something in his lifetime as the [Great Seal] then it's patience. Perseverance too. And inner strength.

"Only courage in the face of doubt can lead to the answer."

Ryoji's words rang through his mind in the incessant silence of this landscape.

* * *

Drew was walking… _?_

_Huh?_

In this horizon of pure white, she was following the footsteps of Jin, in human form, and Nurahiyon.

"Where are we?"

Her feet were on something solid, but putting her hands to touch the 'ground' was futile because her hand touched nothing.

There was no horizon, no concept of direction. What is up, might as well be down, or west. Front may be the back; the concept of inside was interchangeable with outside.

"You got dragged with us, young lady."

Nurahiyon turned to her but continued walking.

"Sorry about that," Jin's face was apologetic but his grin was ear to ear, "Don't worry though because we're about to pick him up from this wonderful dream."

At the mention of dream, the landscape changed. They were back.

In Japan. The streets were alive, _felt_ alive, but also deserted.

There was no ominous feeling, but there was a feeling of loneliness.

She was standing on asphalt, in the middle of a deserted street.

"Where are we?" Drew asked again.

Jin looked around, a palm over his eyes peering into the distance. "I think we're in Iwatodai."

"Where's that?" Drew was starting to sound like a broken record, but this entire experience was disorienting.

"It's where he lived."

_He?_

"You mean Arisato-san?"

He nodded. "He lived in a dorm nearby, if I remember correctly. Ah, one second."

He pulled out something from his pocket: something red, but shiny, also metallic.

"…so, does that mean we're about to look for him?" Drew asked.

Jin tinkered with his object, before realizing something. "Oh yeah, I forgot this is a dream after all."

He laughed.

"It is indeed a precious gift to understand the forces that guide oneself."

* * *

Jin shed his mortal shell again.

 **The Time Is Nigh O' Exalted One  
** **You Who Have Waited Patiently**

 **Let Me, Moros, Nightmare Incarnate  
** **Destroy This Stagnant, Peaceful Dream of Yours**

The landscape shifted. Or did it?

It was still Iwatodai, but it was nighttime. The sky was dark, only illuminated by the full moon.

The clean surroundings became filled with graffiti and flyers.

Drew had picked one up and read it, "'The [Fall] is near.' Pretty ominous, if you ask me." Posters were everywhere too, about a Cult of Nyx, inviting them to join as they witness the end of the world. Above… well-

"That's what Minato had to face before."

* * *

Minato heard something, from the distance. A voice?

No, _voices_.

Ryoji's words calmed his senses:

"It is both joy and wonder in coming to understand another."

* * *

"Arisato-san! Good, we found you." Drew ran to her classmate.

"Tanaka-san? What're you doing here?" Minato asked.

She crossed her arms, "That Pharos guy asked me to help you out. It's not like I like you or anything." She cringed inwardly. _What is with me and tsundere-like_ lines?

The hulking steel figure of Jin ran up to him, "Minato! Are you okay?"

Nurahiyon also walked over to him. "So, this is the Exalted One I keep hearing-

_swish~_

Drew's eyes widened, because Jin's object… she realized what it was: a Swiss Army knife. And he'd used it to stab Minato.

Minato looked at Jin, eyes surprised, "wha-"

Jin's eyes was serious. "You… are a very bad actor."

Then, the landscape rumbled.

* * *

Minato looked around. Reality was breaking, like shards of broken glass. The darkness that was surrounding him, it crumbled, light peeking out from the cracks.

A chance. Minato realized.

This was an opening. A solution to his problem.

So he ran…

"One of life's greatest blessings is the freedom to pursue one's goals."

* * *

Drew saw Minato's form flicker. Actually, everything flickered.

The injured 'Minato' doubled in pain.

"Who're-"

"It's time for you to wake-up." Jin said.

The façade of this 'Minato' vanished, leaving a… Drew's eyes couldn't see his face very well.

 _Definitely male_ – but his face was blurry, like a… _dream?_

"Morpheus…" she whispered.

"What was it like? To see the dream of someone who stands above all?" Moros said.

Despite the pain, Morpheus' lips curled up. "Beautiful. So, so beautiful." It was bliss, or something that could transcend that, that was painted on his face. That, despite the pain, the thought of what it was he saw exceeded physical injury.

He coughed and fell to the ground. "So splendid. That boy… the [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ], he is-" Another coughing fit.

Moros knelt and ran a hand over Morpheus' face. "I know. But… I must destroy that dream because reality calls for him."

And then he vanished, along with everything else.

Drew looked around, and saw a boy…

"Arisato-san."

Jin looked up and smiled. "Minato. 'To find the one, true path, one must seek guidance from uncertainty.'"

* * *

Zia-Nephthys was guarding Sadie and the other mortals.

At [Her] appearance, everything turned for the worse. The blob of _wrongness_ and [Her], well they were like oil and water.

One look at the [Shadow] and she started to rampage. Attacking it, and everything in sight.

And rampage this [Primordial Being] did.

Her temple was desecrated, taking away a bulk of Nephthy's power. That however, made it easy for the scale to tip towards Zia, upsetting the balance in their being. With Zia in the reign, she had control over this body of her – her _own_ body!

She was still in-tune with the goddess, but only with less than half efficiency.

"Sadie, we need to retreat."

Her friend was still maintaining Isis, but the goddess herself wasn't of the right mindset.

Despite the tears running down her eyes, she sniffed and nodded. "We need to get our allies first."

Zia turned to where she'd drop Drew and the others only to see them collapse on the rooftop-

"So bright!"

Under the moonlight, Minato's body floated again. Glowing so bright it illuminated everything around.

When the light dimmed, Zia watched as something black left his body and appear in corporal form.

* * *

He can hear it.

_Battle._

It raged outside…?

No, he was outside.

Panic. But...

He composed himself. Where was this place?

No.

Minato opened his eyes.

"It requires great courage to look at one's self honestly, and forge one's own path."

* * *

"They did it." The Buddhist was now getting used to the overwhelming presence of that [Primordial Deity].

Also, because Minato-kun was awake. His awakened presence literally made it easier to breathe.

"Minato."

The young boy, turned to him, "Ah! Buddhist-san. What brings you here?"

He said it like he wasn't affected by [Her] presence.

The unconscious Drew started to groan, with Jin and the Nurahiyon appearing out of nowhere.

"Onii-chan!"

"Minato-kun!"

The young boy turned to the elementary pupil and the foreigner. "I'm back. Thanks for holding down the fort."

* * *

"Let's take care of that," Minato pointed at Nyx's rampage, "first."

There was a glowing light that flickered nearby, and then he realized that it was [ Pixie ].

"Bebe, could you give me a ride?"

The blonde foreigner nodded and shed his mortal coil.

 **Yurlungur, Governor of the Heavens  
** **Shall Be Your Steed**

 **It's Nice To See That You're Back  
** **Minato-kun!**

His scales were like moving rainbows. The Rainbow Serpent. Progenitor of Life, and the of Symbol Renewal and Rebirth.

Using him as a steed was pushing it. "You're definitely teasing me right now."

"Eh?" Maiko also climbed on the great serpent. "But Bebe isn't lying. You _are_ gonna ride him."

The pixie laughed. "Yeah. Minato, you're funny."

Minato grumbled. "Definitely. I'm being bullied."

* * *

Drew sat upright. One moment that guy named Bebe was normal and the next thing he's this great serpentine-like creature – Minato's _ride_.

She saw the same elementary girl from earlier climb behind the serpentine creature, behind Minato.

The fairy too appeared and floated around Minato.

"Amazing isn't it?" Jin said to no one.

His question was answered by Nurahiyon. "Indeed, that is quite the sight."

They watched as the creature started to levitate and sail through the sky.

* * *

Limbs of darkness, shadows of every shape and size, even limbs made of nothingness. These were nothing to Minato.

"Bebe!"

**Already on it.**

His bond with the exchange student was one of understanding, and as such, it was easy for them to know what each other wanted.

The manifestation of [Temperance] glided away from the monstrosity that is Nyx's attacks.

"This is like riding a rollercoaster!" Maiko yelled, giggling. The Pixie that settled on his shoulder shared the sentiment.

"You've never ridden a rollercoaster before," Minato reminded the Pixie.

The looming figure of Nyx turned, her eyes setting on Minato's form.

 **Ah, Minato  
** **So Nice Of You To Make An Appearance**

Her gaze sent forth a beam of destruction, annihilating all matter of shadows in it's wake, her aim directed at Minato.

"Bebe!"

**I Don't Think I Can Make That Turn, Minato-kun**

The Pixie saw the attack. "No worries, I got it." She floated in front of them and faced the attack head-on. "Makarakarn!"

The attack connected, but Pixie summoned forth a wall that not only stopped the attack, but reflected it back. "Ha! You're no match for me!"

The attack hit Nyx straight on. The Pixie puffed out her chest, "Elizabeth is scarier than you!"

The Night chuckled. But continued her onslaught.

But Minato remained unfazed and unaffected by her attacks because his steed managed to evade most of her attacks while Pixie deflected any attack that managed to slip through.

**Amazing**

Nyx attacks weren't holding back: she summoned the elements, rained down destruction and used all of her powers against the lone human that stood steadfast against all this.

The entire terrain was reduced to rubble. The entire landscape was turning into a hellscape on earth, with fires all around and toppled but strangely unaffected coffins all around. Tartarus however stood tall and proud.

 **Show Me More  
** **O' Exalted One**

 **Show Me The Conviction Of Man  
** **Show Me The Culmination Of Your Journey**

**Show Me-**

Up above, the Moon descended.

Tsukuyomi and his entourage, a little worse for wear, were atop a cloud. They were rushing at Nyx at full speed like a moon emerging from a lone cloud, behind a starless sky.

His gods stood steadfast and carried an assault that was magnificent as magnificent could be: they were gods after all.

Frenzied but with purpose. Impassioned but ablaze.

They rained their magic, miracles and mysteries at the [Her]. Rain, Swords, Fire, Brushwork, Words, Flowers, Mountains. Any and everything was used.

Yet somehow, despite the assault. Despite the gods and their splendor, Minato outshone them all. He had no physical peculiarities. He had nothing that made him standout. He was only someone who could be described as above average. And yet his brilliance was indescribable.

"Bebe, let's go!" The great serpent rushed forth.

* * *

"So this is the power of the [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ]." Nurahiyon, Drew realized, might be an enigmatic yokai, but he wasn't immune to surprise. Especially to Minato and his powers.

Granted, this was Drew's first time seeing it firsthand too and it was simply incredible, but Drew's come into terms with that – after all, this was the reason why she's been tasked with awakening him: he would be able to stop this.

But this was getting ridiculous: he was riding (she learned) a god of a different continent, and was casually evading and deflecting attacks that, earlier, all the people involved were having difficulty to withstand.

_Thud!_

That dragon named Set landed on their side. The pretty girl named Zia was on the dragon's head. "Hop on."

She and the others nodded. The Buddhist, helped by the Magician, got on first. Followed by possessed baboon.

Jin and the Nurahiyon stayed put.

"What about you guys?"

Jin shrugged, "I'll sit this one out: gotta keep the stray [Shadow] at bay after all." He pointed at [Shadow]-like thing that they were fighting earlier.

And to think that earlier, this was the biggest threat they were up against.

Draw nodded, albeit unsurely.

She turned to Nurahiyon.

The elder yokai merely tilted his head. "Same here, can't really be of much help anymore."

"Huh?"

"If you use a [Miracle] too much, you destroy their [Mystery] and devolve it into a mere [Trick]." He laughed, "Not to worry, I too will keep a safe distance from this."

And just like that, the yokai that were earlier not there, suddenly appeared. They surrounded the Nurahiyon.

"Nurahiyon-sama, is Minato-sama okay?" asked one.

Drew didn't bother to stay and listen because Īsan called out to her.

* * *

Zia looked back when Drew got on. "And the others?" She meant Jin and Nurahiyon.

Drew shrugged, "They said they'll manage on their own." She immediately went over to Īsan and her friends.

Zia turned to the two, who both nodded and waved at her.

She nodded back at the two before touching Set's head. "Let's go."

The dragon extended its wings before rising into the air.

"What do we do now?" Drew asked as they reached high altitudes.

Zia herself didn't know. She now had to worry about the safety of innocents as well as her friends.

Sadie said something.

Zia turned to her friend, "Huh?"

Sadie's crying has toned down considerably. Earlier, her tears and sobs wouldn't stop but now, she's… well, she's still not okay but for the most part, she's calmed down. "We go to him." He pointed at the teenaged boy atop his own steed.

"No Sadie," she said a little forcefully, "we should retreat."

"We should focus on getting that [Anomaly] contained." Zia turned and was shocked because _Khufu_ was talking. A baboon was using human speech- _wait_.

"What have you done to Khufu?" This was a possession. Someone was possessing Khufu – but… "Thoth?"

The baboon grinned. "In any case, I believe we'll be much safer the closer we are to the [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ]."

"I disagree. He is fighting that… um… what is that thing?"

"[She] uses the Greek name Nyx."

* * *

The irony of it all was that Minato, despite bearing the mantle of Ikthus, wasn't needed. No, it wasn't that. What he was before, what he represented before, that's what wasn't needed.

**Stand fast**

**Minato**

**You Are So…**

Nyx laughed. A laugh that made the world tremble.

He needed to close the distance between them. An arduous journey, no doubt.

"Minato-sama!"

Takamagahara had neared them. Gods, all of them. Not a part of him, not denizens of the Sea of Souls, but gods nonetheless. They looked at him. All eyes on his being.

"We'll get you where you need to be." One of the gods said.

He recognized him: the one from the mountains. And… "Priestess-san."

She bowed in greeting.

There was also a presence in the middle of the clouds. But he looked worse for wear, and battle-weary. Minato nodded at the god before saying, "I would rather you keep safe."

Nyx fired another beam of destruction and Pixie had deflected it again. The attack rebounding and created an explosion at Nyx.

The gods, the ones that had taken a good look at him and heard the ridiculousness of his words, laughed. 'A lord requesting his retainers to prioritize their safety?! Utter nonsense!'

But he was above them still, so a compromise then. "We'll do that, but that doesn't mean help won't reach you."

That guy, he recognized him too… the fisherman god.

He shrugged, not wanting to prolong Nyx from existing. He took a deep breathe before nodding at them, "But remember, safety first." He gave a light pat on the great serpent that was his steed, "Bebe."

And the great snake let out a gleeful roar before gliding forth.

Not a few seconds after Takamagahara has made their stance, a dragon appeared.

"Set?" Minato recognized it. "But on top it's head…"

Maiko's face lit up and waved at the people riding the dragon. "It's Zia!"

* * *

"Arisato-san." Drew's reply was curt.

"Tanaka-san." Minato saw her classmates and one of the _yankii_ boys with her. Unconscious but they're probably better off unconscious.

Seth, the dragon they rode on, seemed happy at his reappearance too.

They flew closer to Nyx's form.

"I have everything under control." He said to the group. "You should get to safety."

Another of the girls, a girl with skin the color of caramel tilted her head. "I'd beg to disagree." The Japanese that came out from her mouth didn't match the moves her mouth made. There was also a floating character (that he guessed was probably hieroglyph) hover around her head.

Drew crossed her arms, "Besides, if you did, then I wouldn't be in this mess."

"Not to worry!" Maiko scooted forward and stood up, blocking Minato's view. He had to angle his torso to the side to get a view of Nyx. "For love will prevail!" She pointed at Nyx from afar before giggle, "I sound like a magical girl! So cool!"

Minato was about to make the young girl sit, when his eyes met with another girl. A blonde. With eyes of deep blue –

"Yukari?"

No…

Of course that wasn't Yukari. But… but, there was something-

"[ Isis ]."

And without an Evoker, the world cracked.

But instead of it manifesting in front of him, it came from the young girl.

I am thou, and thou art I

From the Sea of Souls I cometh

The one who was, is, and will always be…

Child of man, Minato-kun, お疲れ様です…  
(Child of man, Minato-kun, [ _otsukaresama desu_ ])  
(Child of man, Minato-Kun, [you are tired because you have worked hard, so thank you])

* * *

Sadie saw Isis manifest. "What's going on?"

The goddess was more focused on the boy. But something was wrong. This wasn't what Isis looked like.

So it's you…

Minato-kun…

I…

I… am so happy…

An automation? No-a shabti? Isis looked like a winged shabti.

When Isis neared him, she turned into wisps of light that-

_Sadie?_

_Isis?_

_I'm back._

_Huh?_

_I've got no time to explain-_

* * *

_The wisps of lights they're_ \- Yukari's presence. Ryoji, Pharos… and now Yukari too.

_**Ha.** _

_**Haha!** _

_**Hahahaha!** _

Nyx's mirth made the earth rumble.

**The Fool's Journey!**

**Hahahahaha!**

Her attacks ceased, which made coming towards Nyx easy.

**Death**

**Hanged-Man**

**Temperance**

**Lovers**

**How amusing.**

**Definitely Amusing…**

The attacks of Takamagahara was futile.

In fact, they were so insignificant that Nyx barely gave them any attention.

**Minato, so…**

**What will you do now?**

They were now face-to-face with their adversary.

Her overwhelming presence was still there. But any animosity was long gone.

Minato faced her straight on. "In this merciless, heartless and cruel world, I shall live my life experiencing life in its fullest."

**Ho~**

The amusement of the personification of Genesis was unmistakable.

"Of course," there was a small smile on his face. Profound, sincere, yet simple. This was Minato, who he was. The product of his time in Iwatodai. The ethos of his new Journey.

**I am Arisato Minato.**

**Human.**

* * *

Nyx was quiet. Before laughing again.

**Splendid.**

The darkness that she'd donned started to evaporate.

**Then I wish you good luck in this new Journey.**

**I am Nyx.**

**You.**

**I shall be the observer of this Journey you call life.**

And just like that, Nyx faded into Minato.

**Watch out for the shadow, though**

* * *

▃▂▄▅▃▄▃▂▄▅▂▃▄▃▂▄▅▂▃▄!

"Brilliant. So, so brilliant!"

Jin was facing the [Shadow] when Morpheus appeared. His robe bloodstained, but otherwise unharmed, he saw Minato's journey towards Nyx.

When the Great Mother submitted to the young boy, Morpheus smile changed to hate. A veneer so vile that he-

"No! This wasn't-  
The Ichthus shouldn't-  
No!

No!

No no no no no no no no no!

Such a pathetic dream?  
Such a small, insignificant dream?

No!

The shadow too, writhed when Nyx merged with Minato.

But that wasn't the scariest part.

The [Shadow] that was once Minato's doubt and fears, and Morpheus, [Dreams Made Into Reality]…

In that moment of mutual agony, united.

* * *

The pieces that was his Journey was a step closer to completion,  
the compendium of his Journey made manifest,

Minato sighed in relief.

He then turned to Takamagahara and to the other humans. "See? I had everything under control-"

**I am a shadow, the true self**

From the distance, the shadow- he recognized that shadow. The one that made a declaration in the Dark Hour so that everyone could hear. It was his shadow.

**I am the rejection of potential**

**Complacency and Complicity made Clear**

**I am he who partakes the senseless and useless journey**

Minato recognized that, it's… Messiah?

No, different colors, different vibe.

**A stark contrast.**

The [Shadow] laughed. Like Nyx earlier, it was ominous. But unlike Nyx, where it was sincere, this laugh was done in contempt.

**I am the you that you have rejected.**

**Minato…**

**I am αντίΧριστός**

**He who rejects the world and humanity**

**And all shall-**

* * *

Drew was clutching her friends for dear life when she felt the presence of αντίΧριστός. Her brain, like the other demigod campers, was wired differently and translating that into a different language in her layman's mindset wouldn't nearly encapsulate the essence of what αντίΧριστός was.

αντίΧριστός had started to monologue but at the same time summoned another wave of Shadows. More than earlier – so, so much more.

In fact, now, the night's eerie green hue of the night sky was hidden beneath a literal mass of black. With haunting, hollow red eyes.

They came towards them, _too close._ She turned to the girl who could control the dragon. Her ebony wings, while impressive, were no longer imposing considering the sea of shadows ahead. "We need to go. Now!"

Kenta's unconscious form slightly sagged to the right, which Drew took notice immediately.

Unfortunately, at that exact moment, the dragon did a swerve. The whiplash got to her, and if she didn't let go of Mayu, her unconscious female friend would get dragged too.

The boy, Īsan, he'd turn to her a second too late. "Keep her close," Drew yelled, too late for her and Kenta.

They flew to the side, and out of the dragon's back.

" **Mom**!" She made a desperate plea, but just like earlier, Aphrodite was nowhere to be found. They were in anomaly of course, so Drew knew it was unlikely to work but-

Hugging Kenta, Drew looked around. Descending, she had to think fast. She doubted Zia could afford to turn around for them, so she had to save herself in this one.

The night sky-

The stars-

Twinkling stars…?

Since this was an anomaly, stars that normally wouldn't be this visible this time of the year were clear as day. All the stars were probably there.

She wasn't into astrology, despite it being good for her aesthetic, but the myth behind those stars, she had an affinity to them. Because at the Camp, knowing was a huge part in surviving.

_Let's see, center of the galaxy, look for something that looks like a teapot…?_

_There_!

Her teacher, the closest thing she's ever had to a parental figure, at least a parental figure who knew her best as a demigod as compared to her real dad and her goddess mom.

" **Chiron**!"

There was a saying that her teacher sees all. Granted, from Luke Castellan's generation, she was the demigod Chiron's interacted with the least, but Chiron has always tried...

In any case: Drew had a suspicion that if that were true, it's because he's up there in the stars…

* * *

Zia felt the [Shadows]' presence. A wave of miasma. A perversion of [Grief] because it was simply just [Ruin].

"You've worked hard, little one."

The presence was disappeared. No, it was overpowered by the appearance of someone new.

Her savior, well-

If her savior was older… that smile… that knowing look…

The whisper that came out from her were the words she's always wanted to say. But couldn't.

Not anymore. 

* * *

Minato rode on Bebe's back. With Nyx's return, there was this moment of clarity that made everything just… _click._ But that also made it clear to him that the moment this Dark Hour collapses, this power, his Universe Arcana, would be dormant again – sealed, more like. And sealed because he didn't need this power anymore. Yukari and even Nyx herself had taken to guarding this power inside his [Soul].

He even believed that at the return of the inhabitants in his Soul, they too would guard it.

What's amazing is Drew.

Drew was exerting her human-ness in this situation.

So vibrant.  
So tenacious.  
Absolutely magnificent.

The fact that at the face of this adversity, she was fighting tooth and nail.

Agency born from her human instinct and desire. Choosing to save herself by using her powers. Minato should take notes.

Honestly, for her to steal the spotlight was so on-brand for her too.

So much so that he let her plea go through – after all, in this place, in the darkest hour of mankind, he was the Universe.

* * *

Dionysus and Hestia felt it first. Then the dryads, followed by the nymphs, the satyrs and the other creatures from the forest.

Despite the Camp being the safest place in the world, they felt the presence.

Exalted among all.

It was gentle as it was overwhelming.

Hestia paused from tending the hearth. While Dionysus' appearance shifted, the fog of his drunken stupor lifting.

The Exalt had raised a call…? No, the Exalt granted a petition made by one demigod.

A plea made for the [World] but was bypassed because of the intervention of the [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ].

But… they weren't for either of them… It was for-

"For me?" Not a lot of campers were there to see what was essentially a summoning ritual because breakfast was only about to start.

But for those who saw it, it left a lasting impression.

After all, reality cracked and from that crack was a sight of-

Chiron's centaurian senses zeroed in on a descending Drew Tanaka.

There was a voice at the back of his head.

_Chiron, I need your help._

* * *

"There isn't a single day that passes that I do not mourn your passing." There was no way this was real.

The fact that the dearly departed Chief Lector Iskandar-

"Have we met before, little one?" He spoke in a certain dialect. A very intimate dialect because it was how the people from her village spoke, and a dead one. There was a rarely used flight hieroglyph that floated near him, his khopesh in his right hand.

This was most definitely a fever dream. "I-… No." Too good to be true. This couldn't be that Iskandar.

But then he'd smile and there was a fatherly twinkle in his eye. Just like how she remembered it.

"Let me take care of that first." His smile turned into an easy grin.

He'd just about to fly away when she spoke up, "No."

She'd forgotten about her mission. And despite the odds being stacked against her– _them!_ – she still needed to try. Magicians of the House of Life exist ultimately for humanity.

And that was enough to put the balance between her and the goddess that she had hosted earlier.

" _We'll_ take care of that first."

* * *

Another Persona was summoned possibly because the human near had a strong attachment to said Persona, but he had other pressing matter at hand: the fact that this… fake claims to be Minato-

"Who said I reject you?" He was serious now. He'd crossed the distance to punch it in the face, just to stop the garbage the fake spewed. "To reject you is to pervert all that is me."

So much emotions ran through Minato's face that he couldn't be sure what he was showing, "If you are my shadow, you would understand. You would understand the Journey and the sacrifice."

αντίΧριστός collapsed on the ground. "I only wanted… I only wanted…"

Minato didn't let him speak, "You do not get to put things into my mouth. You do not get to represent me. If you were my shadow… you would know my struggles. The pain – our pain. The pain inflicted on us – on our comrades!"

"The longing, the loss, the mourning…" Minato made the it look at him. "You have no right to claim to be me-"

αντίΧριστός sent forth his attacks. Perverted miracles, abhorrent sorceries, curses that transcended human reason. They were hurled towards him.

The magic and onslaught were so strong the imposing tower that was Tartarus (of his original world) was reduced to rubble and dirt.

The earth became a barren wasteland of molten rock and fire. There was a certain stench in the air that made it painful to breathe too. And the αντίΧριστός presence was just a beast altogether.

But by Nyx's [Authority], all was rendered obsolete.

With a wave of his hand, fake miracles were dissolved, repugnant enchantments were reduced to mere parlor tricks, and curses were absorbed like it was nourishment.

When being on the offense proved to be ineffective, αντίΧριστός did the next best thing: retreat.

He couldn't take a step back because the others have arrived.

Drew rode horseback on Chiron, the centaur in question shooting arrows of extreme accuracy that pinned him to the ground.

αντίΧριστός had a moment of clarity and tried to magic the arrows away.

Zia came atop Set, in full Nephthys regalia, with Iskandar (of all Personas) using their powers to render his spells obsolete. The Buddhist and the Magician chimed in and used their powers too.

In a last-ditch effort, αντίΧριστός tried to summon another horde of shadows, but Takamagahara and the Yokai, led by Nurahiyon, appeared, and they used their numbers to quickly dispatch them. From the corners, he saw the other manifestations of the Arcana too, each containing the shadows that appeared – but no SEES.

"You couldn't understand." Minato said, when he'd caught up to αντίΧριστός. He slid down Yurlunggur and helped Maiko down. "And as such, you are weak."

"Give up."

And sure as hell, the [Shadow] started to reject itself. His form shifted. Two images blurring together then separating.

The [Shadow] and Morpheus.

The [Shadow] with all its repulsiveness started to squirm towards Minato. But Minato let it. "The Journey without accepting the bad is no Journey."

The [Shadow] hesitated before manifesting itself for real,

The ooze melted.

Out came the iconography. A tower on the base. the Orphic journey. Wings…

Messiah.

Welcome Back

* * *

"So, all this time, Morpheus kept you in a constant state of dreaming to get high on your soul?" The Buddhist asked Minato. Said god had surrendered once he knew he had nowhere to go. But not like anyone could deliver any punishment: so despite a few protests, Minato just let him go.

"I think." Minato replied unsurely. Just like how Psyche jumped him some time ago in the Underworld, Morpheus was probably attracted in the humanness that his soul emitted.

When the Dark Hour melted away, they were back in Minato's hospital room. Like nothing even happened.

They'd already informed the nurses that Minato's awake and a doctor has checked up on him. The doctor urged him to stay the night for further observations.

He was introduced to another supernatural faction called the House of Life in the form of Sadie Kane, Zia Rashid, the baboon named Khufu and someone under the alias of Magician.

Tanaka-san left with her recently awaken friends, but not before giving Minato a look that said that they'll be talking soon.

"I don't doubt that," the Buddhist said firmly, "You're a bodhisattva after all, but it's because you're a bodhisattva that I don't believe that a god was able to best you."

Minato suspected that when he'd exhausted all his powers from the fight with Medea's [Shadow], the moment of vulnerability was what Morpheus needed to pass through his defenses. And once he's already managed to deeply root himself into him that the [Sea of Souls] acted on autopilot and created a small-scale Dark Hour as a desperate plea to control everything.

Pharos going out of the [Sea of Soul]'s containment to look for help was something he did not expect, however.

"Minato-sama, I do believe you should be careful next time." Nurahiyon said, seated on zabuton, sipping tea brought by one of his attendants in a thermos.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Minato agreed. In fact, the Persona equivalent of the god that infiltrated his [Soul] found it so annoying that his counterpart was able to best him. Persona Morpheus was a little too enthusiastic about keeping Minato's dreams free from otherworldly interferences.

* * *

Mayu stirred.

"What a weird dream." She'd fallen asleep somehow, and upon opening her eyes-

"Ah! She's awake!" She found herself leaning her head back against some waiting chairs by some corridor.

Drew and Kenta were drinking canned soda in front of him.

"Guys? What're you doing here?"

"I think you're still out of it, Mayu." Drew giggled and stood up. She handed him a canned soda which she took.

" **We came to check up on you because you said that your mom gave birth to a younger sibling**." Drew paused. "Actually, we're lying. We were in the neighborhood and decided to drop by because I heard that your mom gave birth."

"Oh, well, have you seen Īsan?"

"Who?" Kenta asked, getting a bit suspicious.

"Oh," Mayu rubbed her temples, "Just some guy I met earlier, he-"

She immediately regretted saying she met some guy because Drew immediately zeroed in on that detail, "Ohh! A _guy_." She waggled her eyebrows.

Mayu laughed at Drew's expressions, "No, not like that."

"Hey, I heard Arisato-san's awake now." Kenta tried to steer the conversation away from the topic of boys.

Fortunately, Mayu's ears perked at grade-A gossip.

* * *

While Kenta kept Mayu company, Drew excused herself. Because at the corner of her eye, Īsan and… _Chiron?_

She was just about to hide herself, when Chiron noticed her.

"Ah, Ms. Tanaka." He was using the Mist to make him appear as a guy in a wheelchair.

" _You know each other?_ " She spoke in English. It's been a long couple of hours, between Kenta learning about her supernatural origins and Arisato-san's… everything, she didn't feel like being tactful.

Chiron looked at the teenage boy who shrugged.

"Not really." Īsan said in perfect English.

That raised an alarm in Drew's head not because of his American accent but because Chiron's reply shocked her.

"The Camp would welcome you; you know. Both of you."

Īsan actually laughed, a hollow one. "That's pretty funny." He tapped his bandaged eye before walking away from them.

Chiron sighed but not before looking hopeful at Drew.

"I-"

* * *

Kenta was talking to Īsan, who happens to be a schoolmate, albeit at a different class.

Mayu had excitedly introduced Īsan to him, but was also surprised when Īsan told him they were schoolmates.

 _Poor Taichi_. He silently felt for his friend, _Mayu looks smitten._

Drew returned a few minutes later. She had an indecipherable look on her face before smiling when she met his eyes.

She noticed Mayu animatedly talking to Īsan. She leaned towards his ear, "Poor Taichi."

He silently nodded, watching as Mayu laugh at something Īsan said.

Drew nudged him, "How's your friend? The other guy?"

Kenta realized Drew was right, _What happened to Shuhei?_

A phone call later, he was relieved to find out that he was out with his crew – _safe_. And conveniently and luckily unable to recall the events that happened earlier.

"We still need to be sure though, let's meet him tomorrow." Drew said, crossing her arms.

Kenta heard her sigh, "You okay?"

Drew smiled, "Yeah. Just taking in today's small victory."

* * *

Takamagahara was abuzz at the return of Tsukuyomi's court. Because they brought forth news that [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ] was real. Not a hoax made to sow discord.

They would be scrutinizing what to do with such an important existence in their land, but something more pressing was brewing:

Bishamonten had shed his Japanese form and had created a minor paradox: because he was here representing the Jade Emperor and the ever prevailing Indian pantheon.

* * *

Isis and Nephthys made the report to Horus. With Ra senile, Horus had taken the mantle of temporary leader.

"Is the [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ] a threat?" Because certainly, in the past, the Egyptians played the antagonist role for the [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ]'s story.

Thoth shook his head, "I do not think so."

"Isis?" Horus zeroed in on her, "What about you? You've been in deep thought since returning from the Anomaly."

"He… is very…" she took in a deep breath, "He's very dear to me."

* * *

Zeus was livid at the sheer audacity of the [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ] barging in on Olympian soil.

It didn't help that the other gods disagreed with Zeus' derision of Minato Arisato.

Aphrodite was quick to point out that he was a boy who wanted stay in his native country and should be left alone.

Persephone, and therefore Hades, also believed that he should be left alone.

Dionysus, in a lucid and sober episode, had openly declared that his father should be ashamed for ridiculing the [ ▃▂▄▅▂▃▄ ], which created a heated argument between the two.

When Zeus was reaching boiling point, it was Hestia who confronted his ire.

" **He is Exalted among All Factions**."

Her seat was now technically the 13th's seat, because she rarely took part in council meetings, but for such an important existence, and as the deity for hospitality, she had a very heavy say in the matter.

" **Have some tact, you're making Olympus look like a bunch of unruly kids**."

* * *

Sadie and Zia had to stay for a day or two because the teleportation spell that would take him to New York would take time to recharge.

"You were right to ask for back-up." Zia said as she rode the bike's sidecar. Her only regret was not being able to talk to _that_ Iskandar after the battle. In fact, once the Anomaly collapsed, Iskandar was gone.

Turns out, battling with him was the catharsis she needed. It didn't matter if he wasn't _her_ Iskandar, his presence made the process of accepting his passing much easier.

Zia noticed Sadie, "Sadie, are you okay?"

"Huh-yeah." She shook her head, "Yeah. I am."

"Are you sure?" Zia assisted Khufu, who was carrying a bento box he'd asked for them to buy at the hospital's canteen.

"I'm fine." She wore her helmet before taking the seat beside her. "I'm just surprised that the Messiah is here, in Japan."

"Speaking of which, do you think we could talk to him soon?" Zia turned to the Magician.

"Depends. We are in Buddhist territory. We'd have to talk to this city's Buddhist representative first."

"Why, Zia?"

"Just… I have a few questions." And besides, Zia has a sneaking suspicion that Minato will be part of something big.

**VOLUME 2: RESCUE ARC**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks for reading this volume! I hope you guys liked it. Volume 3's gonna be up soon - this time, much faster because for the love of me, I dunno why I wrote it while finishing Volume 2. Stay safe and take care guys!


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